See Ina Garten’s Ingenious Tip for Keeping Her Kitchen Knives Sharp

Ina Garten is our patron saint of all things cooking, so we’re never not looking for sage kitchen wisdom from the Contessa. And just like that, she’s shared a tip that’s going to change our life (or at least keep our kitchen knives super sharp for longer).

“It’s really important to have sharp knives, and I try not to do things that dull them,” she captioned a recent Instagram post. “I choose knife blocks that hold most of the knives sideways. However, any knives that are held vertically, I have another trick for saving the blade.”

What’s her secret? In the video, she explains, “If you put it in right side, the usual way, the blade is scraping against the wood and I don’t think it’s good for the blade. So I put it in upside down—I think it saves the blade.”

FYI, having sharp knives is a super important aspect of seamless cooking. It can make prepping vegetables *that much* easier, not to mention it’s a lot safer to work with a sharp blade rather than a dull one. (That’s because a dull blade requires more pressure to cut, so you’re actually more likely to slip. Our pinkies shudder at the thought.)

Knives get dull from repetitive chopping, sure, but also from scraping ingredients from your prep surface into a skillet or using hard cutting boards made of materials like glass. Ina’s method probably won’t prevent you from needing to sharpen those blades eventually, but it might delay the process.

First your beef stew; now this? Ina, you gem. We’re trying this ASAP.