8 Of Martha Stewart's Favorite Ingredients

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There are few celebrities who come across as more accomplished in the kitchen than Martha Stewart. She makes entertaining seem so effortless, and has impeccable taste in everything, from her kitchen island to her wine collection. You may assume that a list of her favorite ingredients is filled with expensive produce that is out of reach for the average home cook, but the truth is refreshingly ordinary.

Martha's cooking relies on simple, high-quality ingredients that speak for themselves, and her favorite items include many that are staples in most households. The difference is that Martha insists on the highest standard of produce, whether that be picking home-grown tomatoes or using eggs from her free-range chickens. All of the ingredients on this list will be very familiar to keen home cooks, but Martha steers us in the right direction to make sure we get the best possible version of them. From cultured butter to homemade yogurt, let's take a look at 8 of Martha Stewart's favorite ingredients.

If there is one ingredient that most home cooks are likely to have in their kitchen, it's tomatoes. Martha Stewart is no different, but you won't find just any tomatoes in her pantry. Martha grows plenty of fruit and veggies in her garden, and tomatoes are one of her favourites. She has posted videos on her Instagram showing her amazing tomato harvest with a range of varieties, including San Marzano, plum, Better Boys, and cherry tomatoes.

Of course, we all love to throw some tomatoes in a fresh salad or pair them with mozzarella in a Caprese, but Martha loves to make the most of their versatility and use them in many different ways. In her tomato and fontina tart, they are baked for almost an hour, which softens them completely and intensifies their sweetness, whereas in her classic BLT, the tomatoes are raw and juicy and sing with tangy flavor. When making her sandwich, Martha revealed that she likes to use green tomatoes with red lettuce, in an unconventional color switch.

No matter how she uses her beloved tomatoes, Martha knows that choosing quality produce and letting it shine is the key to making the most out of fresh fruit and veggies. Since tomatoes arguably fall into both categories, it's no wonder they are one of her favorite ingredients to use in the kitchen.

Martha Stewart is very much a believer in growing her own food, but in the absence of cows on her property, milk is something that she has to actually buy in. She insists, though, that it always has to be good milk, and this means it needs to be organic.

Martha famously likes her food to be minimally processed, and choosing organic milk fits with this philosophy. Organic dairy products come from cows that lead a free-range life and have a grass-rich diet, as opposed to the grains that conventionally-reared cows are fed. The high proportion of grass and clover leads to higher omega-3 levels in the milk, meaning that organic milk has health benefits for both the cows and those who drink it.

Martha likes to put her high-quality organic milk to good use to make herself a coffee in the morning in her famous cappuccino machine. It is so good that she claims the neighbors — and on one occasion, the Clintons — often pop in for a freshly brewed cup.

Martha Stewart's morning routine is very important to her, and a crucial part of that is her freshly made green smoothie that she famously whips up in a Breville juicer. Martha admits that she doesn't put many sweet ingredients in it, other than some pineapple or a crisp pear, preferring to opt for earthier notes. Her homegrown celery is a key ingredient in her refreshing morning juice, and when coupled with spicy ginger, juicy cucumber, and fresh parsley, it creates the perfect pick-me-up to get her through even the most frantic mornings.

This humble ingredient can be used in many other ways, such as in Martha's delicious celery soup. With only five ingredients, most of which are likely to already be in your kitchen, Martha's recipe allows the celery to shine while the other ingredients enhance it. 

To enjoy celery in its purest form, you can always try her raw fennel, zucchini, and celery salad, which is a vegan option that shows just how delicious plants can be when plated well, especially with a few crunchy almonds scattered on top. No matter how it is prepared, Martha's dedication to celery proves it is an ingredient worthy of her shortlist.

It's always reassuring to hear that Martha Stewart has the same essentials on her shopping list as we do. Things like butter and milk, but in the case of the former, Martha likes to stick to specific high-quality brands. She has stated many times, including in an Instagram video where she serves buttered baked potatoes with caviar, that she opts for Vermont Creamery's unsalted butter.

This particular butter stands out because it is a cultured butter, which means that it has a recognizably tangy flavor and is not as sweet as regular butter. It's also better for your gut thanks to the presence of probiotics. Martha recommends using the unsalted variety, and this certainly makes sense if you like to bake regularly. The flavor is not the only factor that changes between salted and unsalted butter, as the water content can also vary.

Whether spreading it on a slice of toast or creating a pie crust, Martha's choice of Vermont Creamery cultured butter adds a distinctive flavor that elevates the ingredients. And don't forget to add it to your baked potato the next time you happen to be serving it up with a dollop of caviar — as one does.

Most of us have a box of eggs in the fridge at all times, ready to whip up a healthy breakfast omelet or create a filling quiche for dinner. Martha Stewart also loves to have eggs handy, but in true Martha style, they aren't from the local grocery store — they are laid by her own chickens.

When Martha first started her backyard farm, chickens were the first animals she reared, and she has had a chicken coop at her various houses ever since. She keeps around 200 chickens at a time, and they can provide her with an incredible 100 eggs every day — that's quite the frittata. With Martha's high standards in both food quality and animal welfare, raising chickens means she can ensure they are treated well, and she can enjoy the many flavors and nutritional benefits that come from pasture-raised, organic eggs.

Martha loves to use her farm-fresh eggs to make a scramble, and recommends that if you have high-quality produce, you don't need to add anything to the mixture other than the eggs themselves. By cooking them over a low heat with a little butter in the pan, you can have fluffy, delicious scrambled eggs without any extra ingredients.

Though Martha Stewart is not averse to using store-bought ingredients when appropriate, she is a firm believer that, in most cases, homemade foods are going to triumph when it comes to quality and flavor. This includes making her own yogurt, and though many of us wouldn't even think to do this, Martha somehow makes it seem straightforward.

Surprisingly, you only need two ingredients to make yogurt at home, and strangely, one of them is yogurt. When yogurt is added to milk, it essentially works as a starter to get the fermentation process going. For future batches, you can use your own yogurt to make more — exactly what Martha does as part of her regular routine. "I make my yogurt every week from whole farm milk," she told The Kitchn. "And it's delicious." Of course, in Martha's case, this would be high-quality organic milk, but you can use whatever type of milk you like — the higher the fat content, the creamier the yogurt will be.

Martha enjoys her homemade yogurt for breakfast, topped with fruit and granola, and she advises that you can strain the yogurt to make something similar to the Greek version if you prefer a thicker consistency. You can also use it for savory dishes, such as swapping it for mayo in a potato salad, or coating meat in a creamy marinade before cooking. If you aspire to be as wonderfully domestic as Queen Martha, consider skipping the shop-bought yogurt and making your own next time.

Martha Stewart admits that a traditional Thanksgiving meal is a favorite of hers, and she likes to experiment with the best ways to get maximum flavor from the star attraction — the turkey. While most of us opt for this classic bird during the holiday season, we are always open to taking on some classic Martha tips to get the tastiest, juiciest meat possible.

Martha's novel technique focuses on getting the skin of the turkey just right, and she compares it to the skin of a Peking duck. Her method involves covering the outside of the bird in plenty of butter, then wrapping the whole thing in parchment paper to create a huge poultry parcel. This method ensures you can nail the two most important aspects of a roast turkey simultaneously — perfectly moist meat and the ultimate crispy skin.

Once you have a beautifully roasted turkey ready for the big occasion, you can also use any leftovers in a variety of delicious ways. Martha recommends using it in tacos, pot pies, and soup, or you could make the not-quite-so-traditional leftover turkey pizza. Any of these tasty dishes will allow you to get the most out of your perfectly cooked bird.

While Martha Stewart tries to eat a healthy, nutritious diet the majority of the time, she is not afraid to let her hair down and indulge every so often. She even enjoys the occasional cocktail. One of her favorite additions to her drinks is St-Germain, which is an elderflower liqueur.

In one of her go-to summer cocktails — a watermelon margarita – she ditches the usual triple-sec orange liqueur in favor of the St-Germain. This gives the drink a flavorsome, floral note. When paired with the yellow watermelon puree, you get a tropical twist on a classic. She loves to add it to various other cocktails too, including her strawberry gin elderflower spritz and the Marthatini.

You can also put this delicate elderflower liqueur to use in a dessert, using it to flavor a light custard to serve on top of poached fruit. It's a brilliant summer ingredient that will bring a herbal flourish to whatever you choose to pair it with.