The influencer Jane Brain, who has over 400,000 followers on Instagram, posted a video of cooking pasta and chicken in a dishwasher, which left her viewers shocked.
In the video, she begins by placing a raw chicken breast inside a glass jar. In a second jar, she adds rotini pasta. She fills both containers with water to the top, seals the lids, and places them side by side in the dishwasher. “Just like a slow cooker,” she says before closing the door and starting a cycle.
When the cycle ends, she removes the jars and drains the contents. The pasta, she claims, is “fluffy.” She pours off the juices from the chicken, then plates the food and announces, “Dinner is served.” At one point, she remarks that she’s “been dying to try this” and calls herself “so efficient.”
The Instagram video quickly drew strong reactions, with many viewers skeptical or outright mocking. Viewers questioned everything from the taste of the food to the logic behind using an entire dishwasher cycle for something that could be cooked on a stovetop in minutes.
“I just know that tastes like chicken water and sadness,” one person wrote. For many, the pale, unseasoned chicken and plain pasta looked unappealing, a reminder that presentation and seasoning matter as much as cooking technique.
Others pointed out the impracticality of the stunt. “So 30 mins in a dishwasher instead of 10 mins in a pot? How to waste water, electricity, and time!” a commenter said. The hack wasted time and energy, even though the creator had called it efficient.
Some worried about the influence of the video rather than the meal itself. “The fact you have over 450k people following you for cooking advice is insane and concerning,” one comment read. It captured a growing unease with viral food content, where unusual stunts can sometimes be mistaken for genuine tips.
The lack of flavor became another topic of debate. “Where are the seasonings?” one viewer asked, while another added, “I’ve actually never seen such unseasoning I’m speechless.” To many, the absence of seasoning made the dish look and sound very plain and boring. You don’t need to add many spices to make the food taste good; even some salt and black pepper will do. However, there was none, and that left many viewers speechless.
Some even recalled similar stunts from reality television. “Remember when that lady on Extreme Cheapskates cooked lasagna in the dishwasher? Yep I’m still upset about that so…” one person wrote. The comparison suggested that while dishwasher cooking has appeared before, the memory isn’t fond for those who watched it the first time around.
Beyond the jokes, there are serious concerns. Food safety experts generally warn against unconventional methods for cooking meat. Chicken, specifically breast meat, needs to reach a minimum internal temperature of 165 degrees F to be safe to eat, and a dishwasher isn’t designed for that. Without careful monitoring, there’s a risk the meat won’t be fully cooked.
A safer way to make chicken and pasta
If you’re looking for dinner without the side of internet controversy, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel. I love this chicken alfredo recipe.
To make this dish, start by boiling a large pot of salted water for the pasta. Meanwhile, season the chicken with salt and pepper, then cook it in a skillet with butter and oil until it is golden brown and fully cooked through. Set the chicken aside and keep it warm. Cook the pasta in the boiling water according to package instructions, then drain, reserving some of the cooking water.
In the same skillet, make the sauce by melting butter with cream and garlic, seasoning with salt and pepper, and simmering until slightly thickened. Whisk in parmesan until smooth, then toss in the pasta, adding reserved water if needed to loosen the sauce. Slice the chicken, serve it over the creamy pasta, and garnish with parsley.
In this digital age, social media thrives on ‘cooking hacks’ or experiments. Although some of them turn out to be useful, there are many that the audience draws the line at. Everybody wants a meal that is seasoned and cooked well, not something that would leave them thinking about “chicken water and sadness”.
In the end, the best dinners are those that are cooked the real way, not improvised inside a dishwasher.
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