You should find the answer to the question “What is a double boiler?” before deciding to have one for your house. Fortunately! You find the right place to go. Let’s see what I have in this journey.
This article will not only solve this tricky question but also show you the steps to use a double boiler properly, its substitutes, and some famous double boiler brands. After reading, you can be more confident in choosing a suitable one for your lovely kitchen. Read on!
Things You Should Know About A Double Boiler
The introduction of a double boiler has brought many benefits to human life. Before venturing into a double boiler market, you should find out helpful information about it.
What Is A Double Boiler?
A double boiler is a set of cooking tools using indirect heat for cooking foods. Moreover, it has various shapes, sizes, and colors. This fantastic tool comprises two main elements: an inner (upper) pot and an outer (lower) pot.
Specifically, the outer pot is bigger than the inner one. It is responsible for boiling water and creating hot steam. The boiling point of water can get a maximum of roughly 200℉ to 212℉ (93℃ to 100℃).(1)
People use the inner pot to hold and melt the food with a heat source from the simmered water in the bottom pot. Double boilers allow delicate foods like custards, chocolate, cheese, etc., to be cooked evenly and slowly but not burnt.
How Can You Use A Double Boiler?
Learning how to use a double boiler is not a trick business. Here is step-by-step cooking with a double boiler:
Step 1: Set Up A Double Boiler
Pour roughly one to two inches of water into the outer pot and place it on the stove tops or burners.
Don’t pour too much water into the bottom pot since you need some space between the top pot and the water. If the top pot contacts directly with the boiled water, you will overcook the contents in the inner pot.
Conversely, if you pour too little water, the water may evaporate more quickly, and your pot can be damaged.
Step 2: Add Ingredients In The Inner Pot
Put the top pot on the bottom and add ingredients. Try to spread the ingredients evenly throughout the top pan to ensure they’re all cooked to the same temperature.
Step 3: Start To Cook The Contents
Simmer the water in the bottom pot and stir the contents in the top pot. Some pieces of food may be undercooked, while others may be overcooked or burnt if you don’t stir the ingredients.
Remember to check the temperature frequently. The steam from the lower pot will heat your food slowly. If the water level in the bottom pot is under one inch, you can add more water and continue to heat the upper.
Step 4: Finish Cooking
When you get your desired resulting texture, you can turn off the burner and transfer it to other containers.
What Are The Specific Uses Of A Double Boiler?
You can call a double boiler a multi-tasking kitchen utensil because you can use it for various purposes. Here are some common helpful uses of a double boiler.
Standard Warm Sauces
A double boiler is ideal for cooking standard warm sauces, such as hollandaise and beurre blanc. These tasty sauces are required to maintain a warm temperature for a long time.
In other words, when you let these sauces cool down too long, their texture may be thicker and different from what you expected. Conversely, the consistency can be separated or curdled up if they get too hot.
Fortunately, the double boiler can help you tackle these worrying issues by retaining the heat for so long and distributing the heat evenly. So you will always enjoy the perfect and tasty salt in a double boiler.
Melting Chocolate
Heating with a pan can make your melted chocolate thick and lumpy. Luckily, a double boiler can solve this problem.
When cooked with the double boiler, your chocolate turns out to be shiny and smooth. You can also use a double boiler to make chocolate fondue.
NOTE: You should never let the water get into your melting chocolate. The melting chocolate will become unmanageable and lumpy when in contact with the water.
You can practice melting chocolate at home with a few easy steps using a double boiler.
Re-Liquifying Honey
Honey will thicken and become hard over time, yet its taste doesn’t change. So, if you want your honey to be smooth and silky again, you need to use a double boiler. Moreover, liquifying honey in a water bath can also keep the natural enzymes in the honey.
Steaming Vegetables
Using a double boiler to steam veggies is terrific. The indirect heat from the bottom pot will help your vegetables be cooked evenly and keep their natural freshness and sweetness.
Making Custard
Custard is made by heating the mixture of eggs, milk, or cream gently and slowly. The most suitable tool to cook this tasty dish is a double boiler. This helps create a gentle heat and lowers the risks of splitting this mixture.
Scrambled Eggs
Scrambled eggs with a double boiler may be your go-to option among various techniques. This excellent method will help your resulting eggs be smoother and tastier than other direct heat methods.
Making Soap Or Candles
Besides cooking, you can also use a double boiler to produce beautiful soap or candles. The gentle heat of a double boiler will help melt the soap bases or waxes to create desired results. Always check their melting rate since they tend to be burnable when reaching their flash point.
Making homemade soap is no longer challenging when using a double boiler.
What Can You Use To Substitute For A Double Boiler?
If you want to melt chocolate or make custards but don’t have a double boiler at home, you can easily make your DIY double boiler with a few easy-to-find kitchen utensils.
Pot/ Saucepan And A Heatproof Mixing Bowl Or Two Pots
One of the most suitable methods to substitute for a double boiler is using two pots or a pot/saucepan with a bowl. Regarding a set of two pots, you should choose two pots of the same size.
However, if you don’t have two pots of the same size, you can opt for a set of a saucepan or pan and a bowl. Also, heatproof mixing bowls are better choices since they aren’t melted or degraded when they are in contact with the hot steam.
You can use the bowl as the upper part and the pan as a lower part of a boiler. Remember to choose the bowl larger than the pan to ensure space between the hot water and the bowl.
Making and using a double boiler with a saucepan and bowl is not tricky.
Microwave Or Conventional Oven
In some cases, a microwave or conventional oven is ideal for replacing a double boiler. Note that the temperature in the oven may be higher than the double boiler so it will heat your foods faster than the double boiler.
So you should take your food out of the oven frequently to check its consistency. Though it takes some time, you can ensure your food isn’t burned.
Bain-Marie Or Water Bath
Some claim that bain-marie, water bath, and double boiler are the same. That’s not true. Bain-maries consist of two distinct methods: double boilers and water baths. Due to numerous similarities, you can use a bain-marie or water bath instead of a double boiler.
Put the ingredients in smaller containers and pour hot water into a larger dish. Then, place the food containers in the latter. The entire set goes into the oven together.
You should always check your food and water level during the process. Moreover, remember to refill when there is no water in the dish. When finishing, you can be careful to take the smaller containers out.
You can practice cooking with a bain-marie or water bath within a few minutes.
Slow Cooker
A slow cooker can be your go-to option if you don’t have any doublers. This method requires you to pour about three-quarters water into the pan. Then, turn on the oven and start to simmer the water.
Recommended Double Boilers Brands For Shoppers
Among numerous brands in the market, here are the top three popular ones for double boilers. You can find suitable double boiler sets based on your needs and budget.
Farberware
The Meyer Corporation launched this kitchenware brand in 1900. Over more than a hundred years of establishment, the company has constantly enhanced its products’ quality. Most of its cookware is reasonable, which helps people to access their brand easily.
You should opt for Farberware Classic Stainless Series 2-Quart Covered Double Boiler due to its affordable price and high quality. With the thick aluminum core, it can heat up quickly. Moreover, this product also can handle high heat of up to 350℉ (177℃).
T-Fal
T-Fal is known as one of the most famous French cookware brands. Marc Gregoire established this company in 1956. T-Fal stands out since it possesses a wide range of cooking appliances and kitchenware.
T-fal B1399663 Specialty Stainless Steel Double Boiler can be an excellent choice among high-quality double boilers. This product is dishwasher and can withstand high temperatures in the oven (up to 350℉ (177℃)). Moreover, its ergonomic handles can shield you from getting burnt.
Cook-N-Home
This company is located in California. With decades of experience producing kitchenware, this company has introduced various high-quality products at a reasonable price.
If you are new to double boilers, you can try Cook N Home Stainless Steel Saucepan Double Boiler Steamer. One of the most noteworthy features of this product is that it is induction compatible and dishwasher-safe.
Cuisinart
This American homeware brand was established in 1971 by Carl Sontheimer. Many customers claim that this brand is a full-service culinary appliance. This brand is well-known not only in the USA but also in many parts of the world.
Cuisinart French Classic Tri-Ply Stainless 3-Piece Saucepan And Double Boiler Set is an ideal one you should have at home. This product can distribute heat evenly along its bottom and side walls. Hence, it will help you heat up fast and have a good cooking experience.
FAQs
I will give you some answers to frequently asked questions to ensure this article has got you covered.
Cooking With A Double Boiler Is Not Difficult
That’s everything you need to know about a double boiler. After reading this article, I hope you are clear about whether you should buy a double boiler. Since it brings tremendous benefits to our cooking experience, don’t hesitate to get one for your kitchen.
Even if you can’t buy a double boiler, you can make your homemade double boiler with a few easy-to-find kitchen tools. Now it’s time you practiced making tasty food with a double boiler.
Is a double boiler worth a buy? Leave your comments, and remember to like and share this article on your social media so others can learn more about this helpful kitchen utensil. See you in the next post!
References
- Bain-Marie (2022) Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation.
- Cookbook:double boiler (no date) Wikibooks, open books for an open world.
