Ina Garten Just Shocked Us With What She Puts in the Dishwasher

Erika Janes

October 6, 2020 at 7:27 AM·2 min read

Ina Garten is every one of us who’s tired of the never-ending loading-and-unloading of the dishwasher. The Barefoot Contessa admitted it herself in a recent cheeky Instagram post, which featured a shot of her expertly loaded dishwasher full of clean dishes just waiting for their proper homes. “If you’re not sick of unloading the dishwasher, could you please come unload mine??” she captioned her post. But what really captured her fans’ attention was what was in the dishwasher: an All-Clad roasting pan, a saucepan lid, and — gasp! — Garten’s favorite knives.

View this post on Instagram

If you’re not sick of unloading the dishwasher, could you please come unload mine??
A post shared by Ina Garten (@inagarten) on Oct 3, 2020 at 11:52am PDT

Garten’s website shows that Wüsthof knives are her cutting tools of choice — and if you’ve shopped for them, you know they’re not cheap. So yes, that last one really got fans chattering in the comments. “Ooooo. Knives in the dishwasher! Doesn’t damage them?” one person wrote, which promoted another to chime in, “would love to know Ina’s approach on All Clad and knives in the dishwasher!”

Well, ask…and get an answer! Ina herself popped back in to respond: “EVERYTHING goes in the dishwasher!! My assistant used to put the bird cage in the dishwasher (she took the bird out first). ????” And because the comments — and love for her completely relatable and down-to-earth approach to dishwasher loading — kept coming, the Food Network star did clarify that she makes some exceptions to the “EVERYTHING” rule, adding later: “Oops! Not cast iron pans! xxxx.” (For the record: Garten’s favorite cast-iron brand is Lodge.) One other no-no: wooden cutting boards.

But as for the All-Clad and Wüsthof? Garten isn’t backtracking on her controversial pro-dishwasher take. When another fan wrote, “I can not believe what I’m seeing! Knives and all clad in there! I thought that was a big no no!” the star chef doubled down, writing: “I do it many times a day and some of them are 40 years old! xxxx”

We’re not sure what’s better — the fact that Garten doesn’t bother with hand-washing these items, or her willingness to openly share her time-saving secret. Either way, it’s just one more reason we love her.

Our mission at SheKnows is to empower and inspire women, and we only feature products we think you’ll love as much as we do. Please note that if you purchase something by clicking on a link within this story, we may receive a small commission of the sale.

Before you go, check out Garten’s best dinner recipes below: