Why Preheating Is Such An Important Cooking Step

Preheating the oven before you pop a pie in to bake or before prepping chicken and veggies to roast is a fundamental cooking step, but if you skip it, you may find the fruits of your efforts are less than what your taste buds had hoped. While there are tricks, tips, and hacks to make cooking easier, the simple truth is cooking requires time. Time is needed to prep, cut, grate, measure, and mix ingredients. There will also be times when you're inactive while waiting for something to marinade, rise, set, or solidify. But regardless, cooking takes precious seconds, minutes, and even hours to create something delicious and satisfying.

But we don't always feel like cooking. School pick-ups, afterschool practices, errands, or office gatherings can certainly drain your energy. And by the time you are in your kitchen and pulling out all the ingredients you need to make a meal, the last thing you want to do is wait for the oven to heat up to the right temperature. But before you stick that pan or skillet in a cold oven, there's an important step you must first do. As the appliance repair experts at Aviv Service Today explain, preheating your oven is a step you shouldn't ever skip and here's why.

Patience is indeed a virtue — a phrase that rings true when waiting for the oven to heat up to its prescribed temperature. Food52 notes that when you don't preheat your oven, you risk foods cooking unevenly, compromising their texture. For example, cookies can turn out hard crust rather than chewy, and some of your favorite recipes risk burning. The food site further elaborates that preheating your oven will make your food taste better and save you time. When you don't preheat your oven, you generally have to cook your food longer than the recommended cook time. Translation: you should have just preheated your oven.

Additionally, Houston Methodist Leading Medicine reports there are safety reasons to preheat your oven. Preheating your oven ensures raw meats cook to what is considered to be their safe internal temperature. The health site uses the example of chicken breasts and explains that if a recipe calls for your fowl to bake at a certain temperature for a specific amount of time, that is not happening if you do not preheat the oven. They recommend always preheating and using a food thermometer to check your meat.

Aviv Service Today shares a pro tip. Because you immediately lose heat when you open the oven door, they suggest preheating your oven 75 degrees higher than the cooking temperature. Once you put your food into the oven, re-adjust back to the original temperature.