In the kitchen, Ina Garten has distinct preferences. Her recipes often specify brand names or stress the importance of quality, listing ‘good olive oil’ as an ingredient.

Olive oil has a range of flavors, with fruity, bitter, or pungent profiles. If you want your recipe to taste like Garten’s, it helps to use the same quality ingredients she does.

In the Ask Ina section of her website, the renowned chef revealed that she uses “Olio Santo Olive Oil from California because it’s flavorful, fruity, and not heavy.”

American olive oil, including Californian, tends to be floral and fruity with hints of apple, grass, nuts, and tomato. It’s also less bitter, making dishes taste more delicate.

Garten uses medium-bodied oil for her cooking and raw to dress salads and dip bread where you can appreciate its flavor and lack of bitterness.