@cwebber @dthompson I mean the latter, every time I've used someone's dishwasher they've remanded I pre-wash (I think it's nonsense, but it seems common)

@joeyh @cwebber @dthompson I believe it depends on the dishwasher if pre-rinsing by hand is needed.

@joeyh @dthompson I only pre-rinse things that have big or particularly sticky things on them but I know others vary in their habits (including in my household)

@joeyh @cwebber yeah pre-rinsing is a controversial subject. my dishwasher instructions say to scrape off the dishes but not to pre-rinse. I will pre-rinse if anything is really stuck on there, like egg, that I know won't come off.

@dthompson @joeyh @wobblysaeeda on a mild tangent, look at this delightful ad for this hand-cranked (and apparently not very well working) mechanical dishwasher https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dishwasher#/media/File:The_Faultless_Quaker_Dishwasher_(1896_advertisement).jpg

@dthompson @joeyh @wobblysaeeda Oh my god wikipedia has lead me down a terrifying rabbithole

https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/08/25/214799882/dishwasher-cooking-make-your-dinner-while-cleaning-the-plates

Cooking food in dishwashers

@cwebber @joeyh @wobblysaeeda this is the most interesting discussion about dishwashers I've ever had.

@cwebber also what does MRE stand for?

@dthompson Meal, Ready to Eat!

I have been figuring out how to make "just add hot water" vegetarian meals. I have quite a few recipes!

@dthompson @joeyh @wobblysaeeda Actually I bet this can be combined with the dehydrated MRE type food things I've been doing. If you pack individual meals into the tiny mason jars, then add water into them right before running the dishwasher and put them in the dishwasher, I bet it will cook them pretty well

This is a terrible idea and I have to try it now

@cwebber @joeyh @wobblysaeeda please try this and report back.

@dthompson @joeyh @wobblysaeeda Unfortunately @mlemweb really does not like the idea of doing this

@cwebber @joeyh @wobblysaeeda @mlemweb hmm but have you mentioned how cool it will be?

@dthompson @joeyh @wobblysaeeda @mlemweb I mentioned it many times!

@cwebber @dthompson @wobblysaeeda @mlemweb I mean you could just add a heat exchanger to your dishwasher drain pipe..

@cwebber @dthompson @wobblysaeeda @mlemweb or maybe a modern dishwasher has a heat exchanger?

@joeyh @mlemweb @wobblysaeeda @dthompson @cwebber Modern dishwashers don't need heat exchangers because they recirculate the water, and a heat exchanger would require regular cleaning to avoid clogging with food. They do have thermostatically controlled water heaters though, so cooking food in one would not save any energy because it would have to expend more energy to keep the water hot.

@cwebber @dthompson @wobblysaeeda @mlemweb @joeyh Get yourself a surplus fresnel lens and build a solar oven.

@cwebber @dthompson @joeyh This could actually be pretty ok? you can wash a full load of dishes (and the outsides of your maison jars) at the same time...

@wobblysaeeda @cwebber @joeyh gather round fam, it's dishwasher salmon night!

@dthompson @cwebber @joeyh Filed under W for "Why do all our dishes smell like fish?"

@cwebber @dthompson @joeyh @wobblysaeeda My mother would never allow enough unused space in a dishwasher to cook meals like this in one.

@faoluin @cwebber @joeyh @wobblysaeeda seasoned dishwasher cooks install a second dishwasher for just this reason

@joeyh @cwebber my current dishwasher says it uses around 2-3 gallons per cycle.