Am I the only one who thinks preheating the air fryer is a total waste of time?

Last week I finally tested it out myself. I ran it empty for 5 minutes like the manual says, then put in some frozen fries. Next batch I skipped preheating and just added 2 extra minutes to the cook time. Same result, same crunch, same everything. I saved myself 5 minutes and some power. My buddy Tim swears by preheating and said I'm ruining my food, but I think it's just habit from people who used to own those giant convection ovens. Can anyone actually taste a difference, or is this just a rule we all follow for no reason?

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1 Comment

the_blair1mo ago

Preach, my friend. I've run the same exact test and got identical results, so you're not alone in this. Tim means well, I'm sure, but some folks just get locked into what the manual says and never question it. My experience tells me the only real difference is how long you wait before you eat, and that's not worth the extra time or electricity. For frozen stuff especially, that preheat window is basically doing nothing except burning off a little dust. Your mileage may vary if you're cooking something delicate like a fresh pastry, but for everyday air fryer stuff, I'm with you 100 percent.