All About Double Boilers
A double boiler as produced and marketed by the cookware industry is a very specialized piece of cooking equipment. A commercially produced double boiler consists of a basic two-or three quart straight-sided sauce pan and another insert pan that has a slightly rounded bottom and fits snugly into the top of the bottom pan.
Often, a double boiler set will come with a lid. Never use the lid—if you ever use the bottom pan alone, feel free to use the lid, but most foods that need to be cooked in a double boiler require constant stirring.
Now comes the question: do you really need to purchase a specialized pan set?
The answer is no. A double boiler can easily be rigged at home. All you need is a deep and wide pan and a large glass or metal bowl whose bottom will fit down in the pan.
If the pan is too small or the bowl is too big, the heat will be concentrated right at the very bottom of the bowl. You want as much of the bowl to be inside the pan as possible to promote even heat distribution. (see photo)
As far as I’m concerned, a home-made double boiler is works better than a store-bought set. Often, the bottom of the insert is a little flat on the bottom but with rounded sides that then have a rim that has been pressed into the pan.
This little rim is what keeps the insert from falling down into the bottom pan. It’s also a place where food can get stuck.
The shape of these pans is not very conducive to whisking, and whisking is what you generally do in a double boiler. So, skip the store-bought version and make your own double boiler using a whisk-friendly metal or glass bowl for the top.
Made In Cookware
Made In Cookware is a fairly new cookware and knife company started in 2016 with a 100-year family history in kitchen supply. They partnered with the best raw material providers and expert manufacturers to make superior kitchen products at great value.
Do You Need A Double Boiler?
Now that you know what a double boiler is and that you can make your own, let’s spend a minute talking about why you need one and how to use one. Honestly, there are not many times in a home kitchen that you will need a double boiler to prepare your day to day recipes.
There are times, though, when you want to melt chocolate or make a pastry cream or lemon curd that a double boiler comes in handy. A double boiler provides gentle, indirect heat to whatever you are cooking.
Rather than the heat of a burner transferring directly to the food, the heat is transferred to the water in the bottom pan and then through steam. The steam bathes the bottom of the double boiler in very even gentle heat that can easily be controlled on a home stove—just move the pot off of the heat if the water starts boiling vigorously.
My Version of a Double Boiler Using a Pasta Pot & Stainless Mixing Bowl
How to Use a Double Boiler
To use a double boiler correctly, put about 1 to 2 inches of water in the bottom pan, and put the pan on the stove on medium heat. Make sure that the bottom of the top pan will not be touching the water when it is inserted into the bottom pan.
Then, place the top pan on the bottom pan and add your ingredients. Whisk the ingredients constantly and control the heat so that the water maintains a simmer, not a vigorous boil.
A notable exception to this technique is in melting chocolate. To melt chocolate without scorching it, place chopped chocolate in the top of a double boiler, bring the water to a boil and then turn the heat off. Let the gentle heat melt the chocolate, stirring occasionally to make sure it melts evenly.
When melting chocolate, be very careful that no water gets in the top pan. If this happens, the chocolate will seize into a lumpy, grainy mess. You will still be able to use it in recipes, but if you were planning on tempering the chocolate, you won’t be able to.
Since water and chocolate really do not get along, I no longer advise melting chocolate over a double boiler but rather in a microwave in a glass bowl using short bursts at medium power and stirring between bursts.
When to Use a Double Boiler
Recipes that most often call for the use of a double boiler include all custards (pastry cream, pudding, sabayon, zabaglione, etc) as well as lemon curd and delicate emulsions like Hollandaise sauce. While some of these recipes can be prepared over direct heat, using a double boiler keeps the heat more even and gentle and can prevent scorching.
The ability to deliver gentle heat is the main advantage to using a double boiler. Most of the disadvantages arise from buying specialized equipment: storage issues, buying a one-trick pony, expense. These disadvantages do not apply if you use a bowl and a pot that you already own to create your own double boiler.
Don’t Forget About Bain Maries
“Wait! What about bain maries?”
A bain marie is similar to a double boiler as both deliver more gentle heat to whatever you are cooking. They do differ in some ways, though.
When using a double boiler (bought or made), you don’t want the water level to come up to the bottom of the top pan—the heat is transferred completely by steam. Double boilers are also used on the stove top.
A bain marie, or water bath, is used in oven baking to protect delicate egg-based foods from overheating and curdling. When using a bain marie, or water bath, the pan/pans holding the food are placed into a larger pan.
This pan is then carefully filled with hot water, usually about halfway up the side of cooking vessel. The entire setup is often covered with foil.
The bain marie provides moist and gentle heating to egg-based foods. Since the cooking vessels are placed directly in the hot water, as long as the water level remains constant, the temperature delivered from the sides never exceeds 212 degrees F (at sea level).
This ensures even, gentle cooking and guards against curdling, which is what happens when eggs cook too fast or in too harsh an environment.
To confuse things a bit farther, often cooks in professional kitchens place metal cylinders of soup or sauce into larger pots of hot or boiling water. These cylinders are called “bains.”
Even though this is a stove top method, since the hot water comes in direct contact with the cooking vessel, this is considered a bain marie as opposed to a double boiler.
Online Sources: Cookware
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For example, I'm excited about a new company called Made In Cookware who is making incredible cookware used by some of the top chefs in America. I don't own any yet but I'm excited to purchase one of their pans and put it to the test.
I have a couple of other companies I'm researching and will let you know about them as I learn more. My goal here is to offer you a selection of new and interesting cookwares that you can check out for yourself.
Made In Cookware is an affiliate and I do make a small commission if you buy something from them from my site. This commission helps me keep my site up and running so I appreciate your support.
Made In Cookware
Made In Cookware is a fairly new cookware and knife company started in 2016 with a 100-year family history in kitchen supply. They partnered with the best raw material providers and expert manufacturers to make superior kitchen products at great value.
Dear Reluctant Gourmet:
I’ve recently purchased a stainless steel double boiler (I’ve not yet used it). I intend to use it to steam vegetables as I understand the broccoli or whatever will cook at much lower temperatures, thus destroying fewer enzymes; in a word leaving the finished product in a more nourishing state. I understand a double boiler can also be used to steam oatmeal but will take longer. I don’t know if any of this is true but would appreciate your opinion and any advise you might offer. Thank you.
If you are intending to put the steamer basket in the top pot it would take a lot of extra energy to get the water in the top pot to boil, and if you do get to that point it would likely take a long time to actually steam the veggies. Better to just steam them normally in a pot, you can use the bottom pot with a steamer basket, but keep the heat a bit lower so the water doesn’t boil as rapidly. I’ve never tried “double steaming” water from bottom to top pot but I just have a feeling it might not work so well.
Spot on with this write-up, I absolutely feel this amazing site needs a lot more attention.
I’ll probably be back again to read more, thanks for the information!
can you cook in a double boiler pots if you separate them on the stove…silly question but new to cooking in double broiler.
Great question Sheila. I guess it depends on the bottom of the double boiler insert pot. I don’t own a double boiler but make my own with a larger and smaller pots when I need one. Some double boiler insert pots have rounded bottoms which would make it a little tricky to use as a stand-alone pan but if both have flat bottoms, I don’t see why it wouldn’t work.
Any other thoughts on this out there?
why get a double boiler for that, just use to regular pots or pans. I have an old double boiler from my grandparents. I actually do use the pots individually to heat soup or other things. That is just using them as if they were normal pots and not using them for the express purpose of the double boiler. I think the name double boiler is a bit of a misnomer because only the bottom pot actually boils. You don’t want the ingredients in the top pot to boil, and I’m not even sure if that is possible but I’ve never tried it either. Thanks 🙂
Hey Jeff, I agree if you don’t have a double boiler, use a couple of pots and/or pans that you do have. I’ll have to look up the history of the name, “double boiler” since you are right, you only want the lower pot to come to a boil. Thanks for sharing.
when I bought my pots and pans set the large pot came with an attachment which I assumed was for steaming vegetables and melting chocolate just as a double boiler does. I haven’t used it yet but tonight I was planning to boil potatoes and stem frozen vegetables in the top attachment. Is this wrong and if so what is this for?
Hi Beverly, not sure without seeing the attachment. Does it have holes in the bottom?
I just bought a recipe book with many cream-based soups listed, and the author encourages use of a double boiler to heat the cream in a safe manner so it is unlikely to scorch.
My problem is that I would like to make at least six generous portions of soup, so I do not understand why finding a ready-made 4-quart double boiler is nearly an impossibility! It seems like home-use ones are no more than three quarts — and the commercial ones are HUGE – like sixteen quarts. Do you have ANY advice for me, please??
An older friend of mine just purchased a double boiler and is looking for additional recipes. Is there a cookbook I could get for him that he might enjoy working his way through?
Hi Sandra, I don’t know of any cookbooks specifically for double boiler recipes but they are often used for making cream-based sauces, dairy-based soups, or for melting chocolate for dessert recipes.
re. using a lower pot of the double boiler: As the r-gourmet said, no problem. At least, if you wash out the lower pot.
I say this because, I have the lower pot of my Mom’s and it has hard water spots which would prevent any quality cooking. It, by the way, is made of Aluminum (now try not to use that metal). I have recently been trying to find a non-aluminum double boiler — to no avail. I did a few years ago — it was large, nice and the set included a pan with holes for steaming veggie etc. But now no replacements, w/o ordering an expensive set on line. So surprised at the scarcity of this cooking staple (former staple).
My son bought me a stainless steel double boiler/steamer set by Tramontina. I think it was a little pricey ($50ish range?) but it is very nice. I use it at least twice a week, and I’m trying something new in it today: no-peel hard boiled eggs. Good luck finding one for yourself.
I have a glass double boiler that has a wire that you put on the electric burner and then place your double boiler on it. It was originally my mom and now I use it. My neighbor just bought a glass double boiler and hers does not have the wire that mine does can it still be used on an electric stove or should we make some type of wire to put on the burner and then set the double boiler on
My Aunt, who would be in her late 80’s today, used a double boiler when making her (spaghetti sauce.)It smelled so good and the smell was like no other, making your mouth water. I could not believe it when I tasted it! I was just a young girl and thought, how did she make it so good! Later,after I got married, I asked her how she made it but only found out that she used fresh tomatoes.
While she cooked it, when I was a young girl,I watched her poor more water in the bottom. Then she stirred it and left the cover off the whole time. Now I wish I would have found out more details because I crave that special tomato sauce. I’m thinking of looking up her daughters to find out. I’d love to find out more details. It’s to die for! I’ve had some good sauces, but I tell you, nothing like this one!
A logical way to forestall the boiling of water time…measure the amount of water you need and microwave it until it boils put it in the bottom pan of the double boiler, put the top pan over it, load your food and put on the lid.
since the water is already boiled, you can use a gently flame to keep the water boiling gently and you will have steamed meats, vegetables and whatever else you like.
It works as I just did it today, 25, August 2020.
Hi Floy, thanks for this very interesting tip. I’ll give it a try.