Ina Garten Adores This Kitchen Appliance So Much She Wants To Give It A Holiday

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Ina Garten became the iconic Barefoot Contessa through decades of matching elegance with accessibility. Crafting mouth-watering recipes with minimal fuss is no easy feat, requiring a knack for optimizing prep-work, too. So, in a Food Network X post – which showcases Garten cutting through a bulky batch of Brussels sprouts — the chef passionately emphasizes her love for the food processor. "Should be a national holiday for the guy who invented it," says Garten.  

In the clip, the chef notes the helpful nature of the processor's slicing attachment, which saves time on taxing knife prep. Elsewhere, Garten employs the food process for a dizzying range of other culinary tasks, too. You'll find her chopping up garlic, mixing up ingredients for baking, as well as grating up large quantities of cheese. As a real food processor expert, she's well-versed in handling the machine, showcasing tips like how clasping down the interior shaft will prevent the blade from falling out, as seen on a Food Network video posted on Facebook.

Not surprisingly then, that on the Barefoot Contessa website, a Cuisinart Cup Pro Custom Food Processor is listed as an essential piece of equipment – the same model that appears in much of her content. So, buy a model or dust off one you already own, and stock up on other kitchen tools Ina Garten always has handy to instantly ease your cooking.

Whether it's mixing tasty blue cheese dip, crafting breadcrumbs for salmon cakes, or blending creamy hummus, a food processor serves a crucial role in many Ina Garten recipes. So, to further understand her fondness for the appliance, it's helpful to refresh on a food processor's impressive range.

Most models come with a selection of blades and attachments, which can perform versatile tasks like puréeing, chopping, grinding, grating, mixing, and even kneading. Most often, the appliance is utilized to pulverize foods into a uniform consistency, like in Ina Garten's butternut squash soup recipe. Yet keep in mind you can vary the resulting coarseness, also using the kitchen tool to make simple shaved ice or a batch of cauliflower rice. Alternatively, you could even consider repurposing overcooked meat with your food processor and a dash of olive oil.

Plus, as with Garten's Brussels sprouts slicing hack, don't undervalue replacing knife work with a food processor. Using the slicing disk, you can craft thin cuts of everything from potatoes, to cured meats and cucumbers, all at the press of a button. Meanwhile, throw on the dough attachment, and you can readily knead dough, whether for bread or pasta, dependably crafting a well-melded composition. The food processor eases many tasks in the kitchen without sacrificing quality, making Garten's penchant understandable.