I made Ina Garten's homemade chicken stock for the first time and realized sometimes store-bought really isn't fine

Ina Garten has made me a believer in the powers of homemade chicken stock. Anneta Konstantinides/Business Insider

• I recently made Ina Garten's homemade chicken stock for the first time.
• I used it in her ravioli en brodo and chicken pot pie soups and the broth blew me away.

When I was at the beginning of my cooking journey, forced into the kitchen at the start of lockdown in 2020, no voice was more soothing than Ina Garten saying that "store-bought is fine."

With her foolproof and accessible recipes, the "Barefoot Contessa" star was the perfect idol for a novice chef. Garten never made me feel bad about using shortcuts as my skills slowly progressed, even endorsing store-bought mashed potatoes or frozen pie crust during the holidays.

But as a rainy winter descended on Los Angeles this year, I constantly gravitated toward soups. And after making a few with store-bought stock, I finally decided to try Garten's homemade version.

Now, I'll never go back.