11. Does Preheating Actually Do Anything?
It might be time to reconsider this step. Before you cook anything, it’s important to know if preheating is necessary. Preheating your oven or stove top will frequently lead to uneven cooking. For instance, the oven could be too hot at the bottom and too cold at the top – so it’s best to just turn it on before cooking.
To answer whether it is better to cook your food before heating it up, I am going to have to say yes. Food will cook more evenly and at a proper cooking temperature if you start heating your pot/pan/oven before you put any food in to cook.