‘Barefoot Contessa’ Ina Garten Recommends 1 Ingredient Rachael Ray Won’t Touch
Some Food Network viewers make a habit of following the recommendations of their favorite celebrity chefs. And the good news is, they’re always offering opinions. From brand recommendations to appropriate substitutions, these culinary connoisseurs are happy to help.
The Barefoot Contessa Ina Garten is one of the most beloved stars on Food Network thanks to her practical advice and delicious recipes. However, one of her product recommendations rubs fellow show host and cookbook author Rachael Ray the wrong way.
The fact is, Ray would never eat this one brand name product that Garten tells her fans to buy.
Ina Garten insists that ‘storebought is just fine’ all the time
Barefoot Contessa makes her meals from scratch and frequently uses gourmet ingredients to make everything taste delicious. However, she’s gotten a reputation for insisting “storebought is just fine” while offering her viewers practical options for preparing quick meals.
Fans love how Garten recommends some cheap and quick options like Rao’s Homemade Marinara sauce, which she claims is better than homemade. And then there’s the only brand of mayonnaise she uses: Hellman’s.
It’s a popular and easily available brand that home chefs should be able to find at their local grocery store. However, you won’t catch Ray bringing out the Hellman’s for any reason.
Rachael Ray despises mayonnaise, even Hellman’s
Garten recommends Hellman’s brand mayo right on her website. But Ray won’t even touch the stuff if it’s a fancy brand. That’s because the cookbook author refuses to eat or cook with mayonnaise for any reason.
“Shelf-stable mayonnaise creeps me out!,” she told People on the set of The Rachael Ray Show in 2019. “I will make an aioli myself and I love Aquafaba, because it’s chickpea-based. But it’s something about knowing that there’s eggs in mayonnaise and that it’s sitting on a hot shelf for months and months. It makes me want to retch.”
There’s even an ‘I Hate Mayonnaise’ club that celebs can join
When it comes to despising mayo, it turns out Ray is in good company. Plenty of people feel repulsed by this popular condiment, though few are as outspoken about it as she is.
Celebrities ranging from Jimmy Fallon to former president Barack Obama have all expressed their disgust with mayonnaise. There’s also a rumor that Barefoot Contessa herself is not a huge fan of it and thinks other recipes use it as a base too often.
However, she will use mayo to cook with when the occasion demands. As long as it’s Hellman’s brand only.
The 1 food Ina Garten won’t touch
She’s OK with the very divisive mayonnaise, but there is one food item Garten refuses to touch. It’s the popular herb, cilantro. “I just won’t go near it,” she explained to Time.
Some people have a genetic predisposition to think cilantro tastes like soap and apparently Garten got that gene. So don’t expect to see any cilantro in her recipes.
Like many other Food Network stars, Barefoot Contessa also despises storebought Parmesan cheese, which usually contains wood pulp (listed as cellulose) as a filler. Instead, she grates her own at home and recommends viewers do the same.
