Why Ina Garten Chooses To Keep Her Favorite Ingredients On The Counter Instead Of Putting Them Away

For the dedicated chef, mise en place — the practice of gathering each of your ingredients before you begin cooking and urgently need them — is an important step for successfully executing a recipe. Nobody wants to be scrambling for matches when it's time to set Julia Child's iconic coq au vin on fire. And Ina Garten, one of the living legends of present-day food world fame, manages to make mise en place both a more casual and a more serious affair by keeping some key ingredients out for easy access.

"When I buy groceries, I leave things like lemons, onions, and garlic in bowls on the counter, rather than putting them away," Garten told Oprah Daily. "Not only are they easy to get to, but also, when I'm working, I often think, what would make this even better? Chances are, one of those ingredients will do the trick, so it reminds me to use what's already there, rather than search for some crazy spice or herb." So, if you already leave these pieces of produce out simply because it's always seemed like that's just where those items should go, then you can celebrate the polished professionalism that you share with the Barefoot Contessa herself.

The same Oprah Daily interview notes that Ina Garten is working with 25 feet of counter space in the barn where she's shot so many of her iconic moments, echoes of "store-bought is fine" forever encased in limestone like that "Jurassic Park" mosquito. Should you be negotiating a smaller surface area, you might need to be a bit more judicious about what you're leaving out. Bowls of citrus like lemon and lime not only serve Garten's purpose of being within arm's reach and inspiring preparation riffs, but they look lovely on display. Plenty of other produce can double as edible decor when arranged in a nice glass bowl, too.

Garlic, incidentally, also loves to live on the counter, along with items like bananas, tomatoes, and other foods that you shouldn't store in the refrigerator. An unconcealed spice rack is also tops for living the mise en place lifestyle, but not every kitchen can accommodate one. Some small kitchen spice storage hacks can work, and even the tiniest work spaces should be able to accommodate salt, pepper, and an aromatic or two that you use every day.