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A bain-marie is used when you need a gentle and even heat for
whatever you are cooking or warming.
How it works
The picture below shows how it works. Here, a bowl is
placed over a pan of gently-boiling water. Steam is generated
from the boiling water and the bowl is heated by the steam
condensing.
Setting up a bain-marie
You can buy a bain-marie in specialist cook shops. It is
often also called a double-boiler.
But it is easy to make one by putting a bowl in the top of a pan
as shown.
Instead of using a bowl, you can use one pan inside another.
Make sure that the bottom of the bowl or the upper pan does not
dip into the boiling water. Also. take care that the bottom
pan does not boil dry - keep checking and add more water if
needed.
When to use a bain-marie
- Making egg-based sauces
- Making egg custard
- Melting chocolate
History
It was said to have been invented by Miriam, a sister of Moses.
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Make one by putting a mixing bowl into the top of
a pan
Water boils and condenses at 100 degrees
Celsius. So it is impossible to overheat the bowl.
Or you can put one pan into the top of another
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