uses of a double boiler

7 Uses of a Double Boiler

Many times while working with custards or chocolate, you prefer to have slow or moderate heating to retain its taste or to avoid the ingredients from breakdown. Or maybe if you have to work with melted chocolate, you don't want to perpetually adjust the heat so that is it evenly melted. To solve these problems, double boiler comes in handy. This Buzzle article will focus on the various uses of a double boiler.

Cooking Tip To avoid discoloring of the pots of a double boiler, mix a teaspoon of vinegar with water.
Double boilers are like a blessing in disguise especially when it comes to working with different sauces, desserts, soups, and, chocolate sauce. Once you get a hang of it, you will always wonder why you didn't use it before? It is a very handy piece of equipment that can be discovered in the store room of people who are fond of cooking gourmet food. It is a kitchen utensil which has two fitted saucepans stacked one over the other. They are designed in such a way that they fit together just like two pieces of a puzzle. It comes in a large variety of size and shape but normally it is a wide and cylindrical equipment. The bottom pan is huge in size and is directly set over the heat, the bottom pan is generally filled with water. The second saucepan is smaller as compared to the bottom one and is placed above the bottom one. The ingredients in the upper saucepan are cooked because of the heat transferred by the bottom saucepan, this process is called conduction. Bain-Marie is a similar sort of utensil but it is designed particularly for oven use. Generally we prepare any sort of dish directly under heat this method works for meat, vegetables. But there are few ingredients which will split if cooked under direct heat. In such scenarios, you need to use a double boiler. There are ample uses of a double boiler, let's learn more about it but first let's understand how to use a double boiler. How to Use a Double Boiler
Step 1: Grab your double boiler and fill the bottom saucepan partially with water keep the double boiler on the stove over medium flame. Step 2: Make sure that the bottom of the top saucepan does not come in contact with the water filled in the bottom pan. Step 3: Next up place your top saucepan over the bottom one and add the elements in the top pan. Continue whisking the ingredients. Also make sure to keep a check on the heat so that the water does not boil but maintains a simmer. Step 4: Constantly check the bottom pan to see if there is enough water. If required you can turn off the stove and whisk your ingredients.
Double Boiler Uses
Standard warm sauces like Hollandaise, beurre blanc, need moderate heat to change the mixture, but they don't require exposure to excessive heat which can make the sauce to split or curdle up. These sauces can be made using a double boiler. Chocolate can be easily melted using a double boiler to avoid splitting and coating the utensil. Many times when we try to melt chocolate it gathers up together refusing to melt. This is the perfect utensil to get that amazing, mouth-watering sauce without the hassle of standing in the kitchen for hours. In fact, a double boiler is excellent when it comes to making chocolate fondue. Having hard time re-liquifying honey? Worry not - just use double boiler to melt the hardened honey. You always mess up while making custards, now you won't. Custard can be cooked in the boiler to avoid forming a crust on the outside while the inside is still cooking. A double boiler is useful when it comes to keeping food warm for a long period of time. To steam vegetables all you need to do is add water to the bottom portion and place chopped vegetables on the upper saucepan. But first bring the water to a boil, once it begins to boil close the boiler and now add the vegetables to the upper portion. Keep them until you feel they are cooked enough. Master the art of making delicious scrambled eggs using a double boiler. For that you need to boil milk in the boiler, followed by little amount of butter. Next whip eggs mixed with salt and pepper. Combine the milk mixture with the egg one, and place it in the double boiler. Stir continuously and cook until you feel it is chunky yet soft enough to eat.
A double boiler can come in handy if you prepare a lot of dishes which require indirect heating method. However, if it's just once in a while you can make your own double boiler by placing a metal mixing bowl over a large saucepan, but making sure that the bottom of the bowl does not come in contact with the surface of the water.

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