Ina Garten Says She's A 'Freak' About One Everyday Seasoning

Hostess with the Mostess Ina Garten is not one to shy away from sharing her secrets. Whether it is throwing a memorable dinner with as little stress as possible or serving up the best cocktails to house guests with year-round cocktails, Garten's candid tips have helped us all organize better parties. Yet when she admitted to a publication that she is a "freak" about one particular ingredient, we had to take note.

"I think salt makes everything taste good and people are terrified of salt and it's crazy," she said in an interview with Eater. While describing her process of making batches of herb butter to store in the fridge, Garten explicitly noted she liked a bit of edge in her herby creation. In addition to tossing in whatever herbs she has on hand — Garten noted she likes dill, scallions, garlic, parsley, and rosemary — she was also generous with salty, zesty flavor. "And I like a little edge, so I put a bit of lemon zest in it," she told Eater. Then, without skipping a beat, Garten added more confessional details to her doctored-up spread: "It's salted butter. But then I add salt," she explained. "I'm a salt freak."

Indeed, Garten has been known for her love of salts and has demonstrated a consistent propensity for stocking kitchen pantries with several different kinds of salt at any given time. She has long admonished home cooks about their use of salt in various culinary projects, instructing that not only should salt be used in both sweet and savory recipes, but the correct type of salt must also be chosen accordingly for each dish.

Garten is known to have Diamond Crystal kosher salt, fleur de sel, and Maldon flaky salt within easy reach, and her love of each type of flavor enhancer has been consistently documented. While giving a tour of her rustic kitchen to Oprah Daily, Garten described that her preferred fleur de sel is Le Saunier de Camargue. While cooking, Garten reaches for Diamond Crystal salt, yet to finish a plating on a dish or to add a bit of texture, Garten sprinkles flaky Fleur de Sel or Maldon salt directly on top of food. The next time you're in the kitchen, you may, too, want to let your freaky salt flag fly.