Double boiler pan

A double boiler is an appliance that uses two pans, one, which is the larger of the two, as the outer pan, and the other that fits in the first pan. The outer pan is made of sturdy stainless steel, and is supposed to contain nothing but water. The water from this pan begins to boil when heat is applied from the bottom. On boiling, the steam generated from the water reaches the bottom and the sides of the smaller pan inside and the indirect heat helps in cooking the content of the inside pan. The technique is so well in use that chefs and diet experts recommend steam cooking through this method as the best way to retain all the nutrition, vitamins, proteins and other important components of the food that is being cooked. You may decide to add the lid on the top of the double boiler pan if you are cooking a gravy dish with a thick saucy base or you may stir from the top if you are whipping up a sauce for the food.

A double boiler pan is so made that there are no grooves and crevices to let the sauce seep in which may contaminate other food if not thoroughly washed before the next use. Stainless steel is the prime component of the heating body since it is a rapid conductor of heat and helps in evenly spreading heat across the entire pan in a very short time. Besides, other metals like aluminum or copper do not allow specific ingredients like eggs to be cooked or stirred since the blackening effect remains which not only discolors the sauce, the sauce loses its basic taste as well. Apart from this copper in contact with these types of ingredients reacts fast and soon the cooker is out of use. A double boiler pan is available in any kitchen appliance store or mall and there are various brands manufacturing these pans. There re various models of different sizes too. Normally a double boiler pan has a non-heating handle that can help in easily taking off the equipment from the fire and putting it back again whenever required. When stirring your sauce, you may have to hold the handle to give it stability while the sauce is being stirred so the handle has to be made of such material that does not pose a safety threat to the user.

Check on the internet for the prices of these appliances. A good double boiler pan should not cost you anything beyond $40 but that would entirely depend upon your individual size preference and requirements. If you feel that the online shops offer great discounts on the equipment which is not given by the local shop you can freely order the model and make that you would prefer. One additional feature of shopping online is that you have all the time in hand to decide the model and the make of the pan so you can make an informed decision before ordering the product.