Instagram Is Raining Hearts On Martha Stewart's 'Almost Pristine' Harvest

A recent episode of the popular "You're Wrong About" podcast examined how the public pile-on of Martha Stewart over her legal woes and 2004 conviction represented a backlash against the visionary entrepreneur's embodiment of the perfectionism she had so successfully commodified (a backlash that may have been aggravated by more than a bit of sexism). It was perhaps rather ironic that about a decade later, Stewart was roasted for sharing photos of her food that looked, well, less than magazine-ready — inspiring reactions that caused BuzzFeed to proclaim, "Someone Needs To Tell Martha Stewart Her Food Tweets Are Disgusting."

That same year, the lifestyle icon who has reinvented herself again and again throughout her career. The years since she joined social media have seen a much warmer reception for Stewart's online presence, through which she has invited followers to see her less guarded side, often with hilariously unfiltered posts and comments. In 2017, for instance, W detailed the culinary star's activity on the app. 

Stewart's photography skills have also improved, with posts that align with her iconoclastic aspirational brand and have fans swooning over her virtuosity in the kitchen. Among these was a recent photo of a bountiful harvest from Stewart's garden.

Martha Stewart, an early adopter of Instagram, has two official accounts, of which W notes @marthastewart48 is reserved for more personal posts documenting her colorful life in the public eye and phenomenal wealth she has built over the decades of her illustrious career. It was on this page that Stewart shared a magazine-worthy image of garlic bulbs she had harvested with a caption proclaiming 2022 a "great garlic year." 

The skin of Stewart's garlic is purple-hued, which, according to All Recipes, means it's a variety called hardneck, generally available only in specialty grocers and farmer's markets. Above and Beyond Gardening notes that compared to the white garlic sold in most supermarkets, it has a shorter shelf life but keeps its flavor for a longer time. Fans loved the post and showered it with likes.

Stewart is ready to supply not only inspiration for fans' horticultural and culinary ambitions but also guidance on how to marry them. For example, a post on Stewart's official website provides instructions for how and when garlic should be harvested, how to prepare it for use in food, and how to make impressive garlic-based dishes, starting with garlic confit that can be smeared on rustic toasted bread with Campari tomatoes and parsley or combined with lemon zest and butter for spaghetti alle vongole.