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Preheat your pan to medium heat before cooking. Thaw foods to room temperature before you cook. Don’t crowd the pan with ingredients.

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Doing this will ensure your pan and food heat evenly, and prevent the likelihood of burnt cooking. It should take around 10 minutes for your pan to reach medium temperature. Cold food will ultimately stick to hot pans, causing burning and creating a mess. Let your food thaw in the refrigerator, but take it out for 1 to 2 hours before cooking so it can rise to room temperature. Don’t let raw food sit out for any longer than 2 hours, or you increase the risk of bacteria and food poisoning! Filling your pan up with more ingredients than it can hold leads to unbalanced temperatures and sticking. If you want to cook multiple ingredients in the same pan, stick to only 2 or 3 at a time, and space them out so they each have their own section in the pan.