Double Boiler Uses
A double boiler is used to cook foods slowly and gently on the stove top without using direct heat. Essentially, a double boiler is just a cooking vessel suspended over boiling water that is contained in a saucepan. Double boilers made for this purpose can be purchased, or they can be improvised with common kitchen items. Does this Spark an idea?
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Uses
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Double boilers are perfect for melting chocolate as well as making fondues. They can also slowly cream butter and sugar for baking, blend a perfect frosting or even melt materials to make candles or soap.
Function
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By allowing the steam and heat released from boiling water to warm up the top vessel, double boilers create a moist, gentle heat that makes it more difficult to burn delicate foods. They also provide more flexibility with stirring and heating times.
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Features
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Some commercial double boilers come with a variety of attachments that make them more versatile, such as baskets for steaming vegetables or seafood.
Benefits
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Cooking with a double boiler does not require very high heat, which is handy for people who have small children in the kitchen with them. Also, the slow heat keeps delicate ingredients from being ruined, as can quickly happen on a stovetop or in the microwave.
Considerations
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Cooks can improvise a double boiler by placing a cookie cutter inside a saucepan and then heating water to boiling. Fit a second saucepan inside the other pan, resting it on top of the cookie cutter to prevent it from touching the bottom of the pan.
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