Bain-marie

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

You have new messages (last change).

A bain-marie (also called a double boiler) is a device used in industry (phamaceutical, cosmetics, conserves, etc.), chemical laboratories, and in cooking to heat materials gradually to a fixed temperature.

Contents

[edit] Description

Bain-marie
Bain-marie

The bain-marie consists of a large container filled with a working liquid (usually water) and another, smaller container filled with the substance to be heated. The smaller container is partially immersed in the larger container, and the larger container is heated. The temperature of the working liquid cannot normally exceed the boiling point of that liquid at the ambient atmospheric pressure, and so the temperature of the inner container can be brought to a known limit and held there by bringing the outer working liquid to a boil. Convection in the working liquid of the outer container also improves the uniformity of heating in the inner container. When the working liquid is water and the bain-marie is used at sea level, the maximum temperature of the inner container will not exceed 100 degrees Celsius (the boiling point of water at sea level). Other working liquids (oils, salt solutions, etc.) can be used to change this maximum temperature.

[edit] Culinary applications

  • Cheesecake is generally baked in a bain-marie to prevent the top from cracking in the center.
  • Custard may be cooked in a bain-marie to prevent a crust from forming on the outside of the custard before the interior is cooked.
  • Melting of chocolate for use in topping of various dishes
  • Dehydration and thickening of condensed milk to make several milk-sweets
  • Controlled-temperature bain-marie is recommended to lukewarm freeze-stored breast milk when timely breastfeeding is not possible, according to breastfeeding advocates.

[edit] Terminology

The term bain-marie originates from alchemy, where some practitioners needed to give their materials prolonged periods of gentle heating, in an attempt to mimic the supposed natural processes whereby precious metals germinated in the earth. It was said to be an invention of Mary the Jewess, an ancient alchemist traditionally supposed to have been Miriam, a sister of Moses. The name comes from this tradition: balneum Mariae in medieval Latin, from which the French bain de Marie is derived, although, in the French wikipedia the coinage of the term is attributed to the medieval German philosopher, theologian, and chemist/alchemist Saint Albert the Great (1193-1280).

Bain-marie (or "water bath"; plural bains-marie) is also the apparatus used in the warming process.

[edit] References

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../b/a/i/Bain-marie.html"