Place oil on cold or hot skillet? Possible Duplicate:
  Do you heat the pan first, then add oil? Or put the oil in and heat up with the pan?  




When sauteing food with oil, how do the following two sequences differ in the final taste of the food?

A


Place oil in skillet.
Turn on stove and wait for oil to heat up.
Place food in skillet.


B


Turn on stove and wait until it's hot.
Place oil in skillet. Oil should heat up in a few seconds.
Place food in skillet.
Version B runs the risk of overheating the pan and damaging the coatings on it. I've always been told to put oil in the pan before heating for that reason - nothing to do with taste. I'd seriously doubt you could detect any difference in taste.