Ina Garten Loves This Kitchen Appliance So Much, She Thinks It Should Get Its Own Holiday

There are so many ludicrous food holidays — occasions that purport to celebrate gumdrops, tater tots, and sticky buns — that we may as well throw some kitchen appliances into the mix. Where would those very tots be, for example without a turn in the old oven, or through the even more novel air fryer? Culinary stars and prolific cookbook authors like Ina Garten have seen and used a veritable encyclopedia of these small and large devices. So when none other than the Barefoot Contessa pledges allegiance to one such item, it's probably going to be worth a spot on your own kitchen counter.

"I love the food processor," Garten said in a Food Network clip shared to X. "Should be a national holiday for the guy who invented it." Such a fête might be named for Pierre Verdon, the French inventor who is credited with developing the first food processor. Verdon's Le Magi-Mix debuted in Paris in 1971, and went on to inform the production of today's household names, including the Cuisinart in 1973.

Ina Garten always exemplifies excellence, but she also won't eschew a valid shortcut. Store-bought is, after all, fine. Sometimes. And what the food processor does, it does fast. In the Food Network clip, Garten tells the viewer about her thwarted plans for roasted Brussels sprouts, which take some effort to clean and prep, not to mention actually cook.

Garten had totally run out of time, perhaps indexing a party-hosting faux pas, before realizing that she'd need a backup plan for these divisive greens. She'd slice and sauté them instead. But all that knifework would be a lengthy labor too. The food processor's slicing disk, instead, would get those babies down to size in a matter of seconds, versus the several minutes one might toil over the cutting board, not to mention while tempting fate with a mandoline. A love affair was born. Garten ultimately cooked the thinly sliced sprouts in oil and butter and drizzled them with balsamic vinegar, for anyone running down the dinner clock at home.

If you don't already have a food processor to speed up your dinner prep in the same fashion as Garten, check out our list of the best food processors, according to reviews. Just make sure not to overlook this underrated spec if you end up buying one.