Why Ina Garten Loves One Specific Brand Of Rice

After 13 cookbooks, nearly 30 seasons of her Food Network television show, and more than two decades in the culinary world, Ina Garten knows what she likes when it comes to cooking. While Garten isn't the most likely chef to experiment with unusual ingredients, her go-to pantry staples have to pass her own rigorous quality assessment. Once they do, she's more than happy to spread the good word.

Like most culinary pros, her tried-and-true favorites include items like marinara sauce, "good" olive oil, Dijon mustard, and Lindt chocolate, but she's also surprisingly definitive about her favorite brand of rice. "I like the quality of the Texmati brand of rice," she told Bon Appétit when giving a pantry tour at her East Hampton home. "I use brown basmati rice, white basmati rice, Arborio rice, and couscous. I just find the flavor fantastic." 

RiceSelect's Texmati rice is also listed on her website as a preferred ingredient, and many of her recipes, like warm brown rice and butternut squash, call for it specifically by name. Texmati rice takes the fragrant flavors of basmati rice and pairs them with the shape and style of long-grain rice that's more familiar to Americans, so it's no wonder the brand is a Barefoot Contessa favorite.

Even if you're not well-versed in rice brand varieties, RiceSelect's branding will still likely look familiar to you. Packaged and sold in 32-ounce plastic jars, Ina Garten's pantry staple rice is super easy to stack and store. While most sought-after rice varietals are produced in East Asia (like jasmine rice) or South Asia (like basmati rice), RiceSelect prides itself on producing flavorful and aromatic hybrid rice varieties in the United States. That's why the label specifies "American-style" for their Americanized hybrids. Garten identifies RiceSelect's brown and white basmati rices as well as Arborio rice as favorites, but the brand produces 10 different rice products, including sushi rice, black rice, and various blends. Garten also highlights RiceSelect's couscous, which comes in five similar varieties such as tri-color and turmeric.

Since RiceSelect's Texmati brown and white rice options are famous for their taste and texture, try them in place of regular long-grain rice in stir-fries or rice bowls, or in place of basmati rice in fragrant pilafs. Or try RiceSelect's Arborio rice when stirring together your next creamy risotto. When it comes to finding the best brands for your recipes, in the Barefoot Contessa we trust.