Serious question, who decided you have to preheat an air fryer for everything?

My brother, who's a line cook, told me last week that preheating for frozen foods like fries is a waste of energy and barely changes the cook time, so I stopped doing it and my crinkle cuts are still crispy after 12 minutes.

3 comments

3 Comments

the_fiona17d ago

So what's the rule for frozen pizza rolls then?

burns.ruby18d ago

Okay but the thing with frozen fries is they're already par-cooked at the factory. Your air fryer is basically just finishing them and crisping them up, so yeah, you can skip the preheat there. The problem is with raw foods, like chicken breasts or fresh veggies. If you don't preheat, you're basically steaming them in a cold box for the first few minutes instead of cooking them right away. That messes with the texture and can make things soggy. So it's not a total waste of energy, it just depends on what you're making.

kellygrant18d ago

What about frozen chicken nuggets, same deal as fries? I never preheat for those and they turn out fine. Burns.ruby is right about raw stuff though, I tried skipping preheat for some broccoli once and it came out weird and wet.