The 3 Ingredients (and One Appliance) Iron Chef Cat Cora Always Keeps in Her Kitchen

Cat Cora knows having the proper ingredients in your kitchen is key. And she’s giving us a sneak peek into her pantry. 

PureWow recently sat down to chat (via Zoom, of course) with Cora about her latest partnership with Pepsi and their event, “Dinner & A Movie,” where viewers ordered takeout from a local restaurant before tuning in to a special YouTube Premiere screening of the award-winning documentary A Fine Line.

During the interview, the Iron Chef revealed three ingredients that she always has in her kitchen, especially during these times where she is cooking at home (for a family of six) more than she ever has before. 

“I always have citrus. I always have some kind of lemon, lime or orange something to just brighten food,” she stated. “That kind of stuff can just freshen your food in such a quick way plus its a way to get your hands on some vitamin since we all need right now. It brightens food without the calories, fat, the carbohydrates. I also have a lot of olive oil stocked up. I always have some onion, garlic—things that enhance the flavorings of food. And I’m using my dry spices more than ever right now.” 

The 53-year-old entrepreneur also opened up about her all-time favorite kitchen tool: her blender. 

“I'm using my small Nutriblender for making a lot of smoothies for all the boys,” she continued. “I'm using it for purees and things like that because those are a great way to change things up. If you have chips and you want to make some hummus. Use things that you have on hand and use things that are shelf-stable, pull your blender out and use it chop foods, puree foods and to make sauces and things like that.” 

We’re adding all of these to our shopping list.