One thing I know for sure from experience is that food will be cooked much more effectively if you start out with a hot pan. Ever try searing meat starting with a cold pan? Good luck, eventually it will caramelize over high heat but then it will be completely overcooked. And you can forget about getting that perfectly crisp skin on a piece of black bass. Also, if you are going to saute vegetables or meat starting with a cold pan, all the water that gets released won't evaporate as quickly and can ruin the whole dish, even if the pan is underloaded. I never start with a cold pan, unless I'm heating up water, melting sugar, or reheating something else. Of course, you don't necessarily want to start out with a smoking hot pan either, it just depends on what you are cooking.
Also, adding cold oil prematurely to a cold pan retards the whole heating process, minimally so, but every split-second makes the difference in a professional environment. At home, it doesn't matter. |