Bain-marie Cooking Technique
The "bain-marie" is a cooking technique characterized by the indirect transmission of heat. It is in fact based on the use of a first container that contains hot water, in which a second container is immersed that contains the food to be cooked. The first container is heated directly on the fire or on a plate.
The peculiarity of the bain-marie is the progression of the thermal rise and the maximum limit of about 100 ° C, beyond which obviously the water cannot go because it reaches boiling point.
Bain-marie cooking is used for certain creams or for some dough mixes; today, it is often replaced by some machines like the pasteurizer or the tempering machine.
The pasteurizer is used above all for creams and sorbets, while the tempering machine for covering chocolate.
On the other hand, for small quantities the classic bain-marie is sufficient, of which the experts differentiate three types.
Dynamic bain-marie
It consists of a pot in which the water is heated to a temperature of 95 ° C and transmits the heat to another wooden container; inside this, the operator mixes until the mixture coagulates. Water must never reach a boil.
Static bain-marie
It is aimed at the preparation of puddings whose mixture must be poured into buttered molds, placed in pans half full of water. The extended heat treatment can be carried out with water at an intense boil. A variant of this system requires that the container be placed in a baking pan with high edges, into which boiling water is placed. Everything is placed in the oven at 200 ° C for at least half an hour.
Non-cooking water bath
You put warm water in a saucepan placed on a moderate heat source. Inside, in another container, butter creams and other compounds to be mounted without cooking are prepared.
Use in the kitchen
The bain-marie can be used in the following ways:
- Melt the chocolate to avoid separation and the typical incrustations of the pans on the fire
- Cook the cheesecake without it sinking in the center or cracking
- Cook the creams without lumps and surface film (also thanks to the rising steam)
- Classic hot sauces, such as Dutch and Bernese, which require a certain heat to emulsify the mixture, but not too much because a high temperature would make the sauce curdle or "divide" the sauce
- Some products, such as terrines and pâté, are cooked in an "oven bain-marie"
- Thickening of condensed milk
- Heat the milk for feedings
- Keep food warm for long periods of time (food warmer)
- Melt the crystallized honey by putting the glass jar in the bain-marie.
