Update: I stopped preheating my air fryer 6 months ago and I can't taste a difference
I used to sit there waiting 3 extra minutes for it to hit 400 before throwing in frozen wings, then one night I was starving and just tossed them in cold and they came out the same. Has anyone actually done a side by side test or is preheating just something we all do because the manual says so?
Honestly I gotta disagree, preheating makes a real diff for stuff like frozen fries and nuggets. Cold start gives you that pale soggy middle while the outside barely browns. Wings might be forgiving since they're fatty, but try it with fries and you'll see.