One Of Ina Garten's Favorite Kitchen Tools Is A Must-Have For Leftovers

Tips from Ina Garten to help you up your cooking game are the golden nuggets at-home cooks live for, which is why you are going to love the accessory she uses to help take care of leftovers. The Barefoot Contessa gave the New York Times a video tour of her East Hampton kitchen, where she showcased her favorite, essential kitchen tools and contraptions and among them was a Stretch-Tite 7500 plastic wrap dispenser.

This kitchen apparatus puts your traditional roll of plastic wrap in a box to shame. Garten explains that it is called a "Wrap'n Snap," and it is a favorite go-to when she needs to wrap-up and store food for future use. The cookbook author demonstrated the Stretch-Tite's effortlessness by pulling a piece of plastic wrap from it, pressing down on the cutter, and voila — a perfect sheet of this wrap is ready for whatever leftovers you need to wrap up. As she noted, this invention takes away all of the fighting that comes with a box of plastic wrap that produces ragged cuts and only wants to cling to itself. 

This food preserving wrap is a kitchen staple if you like to cook, bake, or if you want to use it for a must-know hack for way easier fridge cleanup. But cling wrap gets a bad rap because of its, well, clingy nature. It seems to stick to everything except what you want it to. This is because when you pull the plastic roll in the box, you are creating static electricity and that is why it can end up being a big sticky mess. The Stretch-Tite Wrap'n Snap seems to decrease this issue, as it keeps your roll of wrap in place so you don't have to.  

It also doesn't take up a lot countertop space. On Amazon, it is described as "compact and lightweight," making it perfect to store and use. Still, it is the "tangle-free" sheets of plastic wrap it produces that make it such a sexy tool. If you feel the urge to buy one, it is important to note you have to use Stretch-Tite premium plastic food wrap with it. It is sold in 250- and 500-feet roll sizes. 

Can you use other brands of wrap with the cutter? The answer appears to be yes. One Amazon reviewer shared that you can use other types of wrap, as this verified buyer wrote, "I buy the big 750' rolls of Pellicule plastic wrap at Costco, and this works perfectly. The original cardboard dispensers it comes in drove me crazy–they tore, the cutter fell off, the cutter got dull, the cellophane got tangled, lost or mangled. It took me about five minutes to set up the Wrap 'N Snap."

Is it worth it? On her website, Ina Garten shared she has owned her Stretch-Tite 7500 plastic wrap dispenser for years and she "loves" it. Garten purchased hers from Cassandra's Kitchen. What we love is that it is surprisingly affordable, coming in at under $40.But the celebrity chef is not the only one who adores it. One happy customer wrote on the vendor's website: "I consider this to be one of the most important tools in my kitchen. Plastic wrap is always ready and easy to use." While another offered, "And my husband loves the WRAP & SNAP! I don't have to fight the plastic wrap any more!! Again, why didn't I get it sooner!"