Do any of you own a double boiler?

[skilletlicker]

I'm a bowl on the pot kind of guy.

 

[GB]

I never saw a need to buy a specific double boiler pot. It's just too easy to do the SS bowl over a pan of boiling water. It has the added benefit of your being able to vary the capacity to fit your needs.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[shpj4]

I have a double boiler somewhere in my kitchen but I haven't used it for ages.

I think I will do a spring cleaning of all the cupboards in my kitchen just to see what I have and if there are things that I don't use anymore I will give them to the Goodwill.

 

[Corey123]

When making Genoise cake, a type of cake that rises on egg power alone, the recipe calls for you to beat the eggs and sugar in the mixer bowl over a pot of simmering water until gently warmed. Not too fast, or you'll have scrambled eggs!

Then you must furiously beat the egg mixture with the electric mixer on the highest speed until the mixture nearly triples in volume and is about the consistancy of mayonaise before slowly adding the remaining ingredients.

 

[ChefJune]

I never saw a need to buy a specific double boiler pot. It's just too easy to do the SS bowl over a pan of boiling water. It has the added benefit of your being able to vary the capacity to fit your needs.

I didn't buy either of mine... but they are extremely useful.

OTOH, there ARE times when neither is big enough for the job I'm doing and I surely go to the old bowl atop the sauce pan trick!

 

[Corey123]

I probably wouldn't of had one either, but when I bought the Visions cookware set back in the mid '80s, I was forced to accept the DB because it came with the set.

And BTW, I still enjoy using the rest of the set now and then. I especially love the big 6-qt Duch oven for cooking large amounts of stuff!!

 

[boufa06]

My enamel double boiler was bought for the sole purpose of preparing black chicken with herbs, a traditional Chinese health tonic.

 

[urmaniac13]

I have one made with stainless steel, I love it and use it often for making custard, bechamele and my favourite "sin" quattro formaggi, etc. This is one cookware I had never thought of buying it before, but after getting it I discovered its wonderful convenience and wouldn't want to live without it any more.

 

[BreezyCooking]

I have one that came with a set of cookware given to me back in 1975. I've never used it - lol!!! The bottom part, sure - use it for cooking all the time. Have just never found a need for the top insert. In fact, I think it's currently relegated to the basement.

 

[TexanFrench]

When we kids were small and my folks had a tiny apartment, my mother used a double boiler all the time--rice or potatoes in the bottom part, more delicate veggies up above. She had a one-burner hotplate to work on. When the stuff in the double boiler was about cooked, she'd set the unopened pot on a folded dishtowel to finish on "retained heat" while she whipped out the skillet to cook the meat (patties or chops or something like that, usually).

I've never bought one for myself--the bowl method works just fine.

 

[goboenomo]

I have one... but I've only used it once.
I don't even think my parents have used it.

I used it to make dinner for my family for me grade 10 cooking summative.

 

[Pollianna]

Mine is a Pyrex Glass Double Boiler with glass handles. I remember in the 50's my Mother having one but I am not sure if she used a sheild on the top of a gas burner before putting the boiler on the burner.

 

[Pollianna]

What a nice rememberence of your very creative Mom.

 

[Addie]

I have never owned a 'set' of pans. All my pans were bought individually for a set purpose. I do have a double boiler and have since I first got married in the late 50's. I use it all the time. It is a Revereware with a copper bottom. I stopped shining the bottom years ago. Nobody but me sees my pots, and I don't care what the bottom looks like. I tried melting chocolate in the mike just once. A disaster. It burnt. Back to my trusty double boiler. My first husband was a pro chef and he is the one who insisted on having one in the house for all sorts of use. I also have a Stir Chef. You attach it to your pot, set the speed and it stirs the pot continuously so you can step away for a minute or two.

I also make lemon curd in my DB. Along with other sauces. One year I poured all the turkey juices into my DB attached the Stir Chef and walked away while I did the mashed potatoes. Perfect gravy. I also bought at a separate time, the steamer top for the pot. Great for steaming veggies. One of the things I like about the Revereware is that (except for the DO) all the pots are the same size on the top. The differences is in the height of the pot, not the opening at the top. So the DB and the steamer will fit on any of them. You cannot use the top of the DB alone on a burner. The bottom is not thick enough to prevent burning your food. Not even on simmer. It is a one use only utensil. You must use it with the bottom.

 

[Pollianna]

I too have Reverware Pots and Pans. They were a gift in 1963 from my husband for our 3rd Anna. What I am needing information on is the Pyrex DB. I have been given one and would like to try using it however I am not sure it should be set on a gas burner without something under it that redirects the heat. Do you know anything about this?

 

[Addie]

I too have Revere Ware Pots and Pans. They were a gift in 1963 from my husband for our 3rd Anna. What I am needing information on is the Pyrex DB. I have been given one and would like to try using it however I am not sure it should be set on a gas burner without something under it that redirects the heat. Do you know anything about this?

During the 60's I had a Pyrex percolator coffee pot and a saucepan. I do not recall ever using a diffuser. I also cooked with gas at that time. But if you are uncertain, go to Amazon and google "diffuser." It certainly won't hurt the pot and will give you piece of mind. Just don't set the pot on a cold surface if you remove it from the heat. Let it sit on the burner with the heat off to cool down on its own.

The only time I hear of a diffuser being needed is for electric burners.

 

[Pollianna]

Thank you so much, I remember my Mother having a perculator also. I had forgotten about it. It must have been a very popular item. It is called a defusser.... I remember now, as I said I couldn't remember her using one. I have never belonged to a forum, this is very nice. I wish I could talk to her about this however she has dementia and is 88 years old and not able to understand. Again this has been a very pleasant experience and I certainly appreciate your help.

 

[Addie]

Thank you so much, I remember my Mother having a perculator also. I had forgotten about it. It must have been a very popular item. It is called a defusser.... I remember now, as I said I couldn't remember her using one. I have never belonged to a forum, this is very nice. I wish I could talk to her about this however she has dementia and is 88 years old and not able to understand. Again this has been a very pleasant experience and I certainly appreciate your help.

Let me give you a big WELCOME to DC. You will find an answer to almost any question you may have. And a lot of fun here. We all have a great sense of humor and it can pop up at anytime. Do take a look at our "Today's funny." Start on page one and go through it to the last page. but you must stop every so often and let the side pain from laughing subside before continuing. We also have a cult here of Purple Pie Pot People. We just love our mini pot pie makers.

 

[Addie]

Remember the tall Corningware coffee maker with the Cornflower on the side? You always got a diffuser with it in case you had an electric stove. In fact it was recommended for all the Corningware pots and pans. I wonder if they had a double boiler in their collection? I never saw one.

 

[no mayonnaise]

Saucepan and Pyrex mixing bowl for the extremely rare occasion I would need a double boiler.