Customer Reviews

Nordic Ware Universal 8 Cup Double Boiler Fits 2 to 4 Quart Sauce Pans

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

For years, I used make-shift pots and pans to double-boil thinking that it isn't worth investing in yet another item that isn't used often but takes up precious kitchen space. My method was clumsy and the process was more like steaming that double-boiling. Since I had different quantities to cook, it was tough to find a double boiler that would fit my different needs and I didn't want to buy several double-boilers.

Then I came across this nice little item and thought that for this price, I couldn't go wrong. Well, I was right for once.

This insert is so practical and beyond versatile!
It holds a variety of things in varying volumes while sitting sturdily in a host of pots. The dome shape allows you to whip up even a small amount of sauce without the ingredients being "lost" as a thin layer on the bottom of a big pot. It cuts down the double-boiling process by more than two-fold. The nice little measurement guidelines help ensure that you are using the right quantity. It is non-stick and cleans without having to scrub. Plus, it hardly takes up any space since it nests nicely in existing pots for storage.

I no longer take a long time and make a mess out of double-boiling. Hollandaise sauces, souffles and fondues are now a cinch to make. I like this so much that I'm picking another one up for a friend. Do your recipes a favor and get this too. You'll earn praises for your culinary speed.

This is supposed to be a universal double boiler, but it's hard to use because it fits no pan well -- making it hard to stir, and giving you a limited "surface area" for use. Also, due to it's curved bottom, it won't stand up on its own if you remove it from the "boiling" pan (to set beside you as you mold candy, etc.)

Why does no one else make non-stick double boilers?! Thank god this one's terrific, but I am buying an extra should Nordic Ware ever lose their minds and discontinue these. It neither slips nor wobbles and it's dead cheap.

Eggs are pure protein; they stick to everything and you will spend hours trying to scrape the little bits away.

- Get out the plates and silverware so you don't have to bother with it later. Make coffee.
- Drink coffee and get out everything you need.
- Put a saucepan on the heat with 2 inches of water or so and bring to a simmer. Water should not touch base of boiler.What you are cooking with is the gentle heat of the steam on the boiler. Genius.
- Turn the heat as low as possible and plot the double boiler into your saucepan, maybe lube up the interior with a little butter. Everything is better with butter and it's just a little insurance and flavor to boot.
- Whisk up two or three eggs per audience member with a tiny squidge of cream or milk. (Do not salt. Salt after cooking. It does funky things with the water/protein emulsions. Oh, don't get me started...)
- Tip eggs into double boiler and confirm the heat is as low as it will go.
- Do some damn thing for the next 20 minutes, wafting back into the kitchen every so often to give the eggs a stir with a wooden spoon or other nonstick implement. Go for "moist soft curds".
-When the eggs are almost done (yes. right. "moist curds"), make and butter toast ("Toast!", I said. Not "tepid pale bread"!)
- If you are a real superhero, you've warmed the plates with a bit of hot water and a quick dry and will serve the lot with salt and pepper (bother after cooking). If you are a god, you'll bring this up to your wife's room with some juice, the coffee, and the paper. You have no idea what kind of points you can score from this kind of genius.

Well done and thanks.

the product does what it says and is an inexpensive alternative to buying a double boiler set.
the few drawbacks are ...the shape is a bit too 'cone-like' where the pot goes too far into the outter pot (when melting chocolate the inner pot shouldn't ever hit the water) and the groves on the outside are also on the inside. they should have coated over the inside to make it completely smooth. the groves just hold alot of chocolate and make scraping the inside of the pot harder.
the biggest drawback though is the lack of a handle that doesnt get hot. it's hard to pour the chocolate into molds when holding this with one hand in a pot holder.

I bought this b/c my new pot & pan set did not come with a dbl broiler. It was cheaper to buy this dbl broiler than buying the next larger pot/pan set. This product serves the purpose! I cook/bake a lot. For the times I need a dbl broiler, this works just fine. Granted, it doesn't sit as tight as a "true" dbl broiler but it doesn't move or tip either. I have to use a pot holder when I am stirring, which is no big deal. As another review noted, you can't sit it down b/c of the rounded bottom. All I do is sit it in another pot from my cabinet. There is a hole if you want to hang it. I store mine inside of the pot I use it for, put a paper towel down, then the pot lid upside down inside of it. I don't have much storage space yet this works for me. Very easy to clean.

Talk about a perfect idea! Instead of having a dedicated double boiler for the infrequent sauces which need it, buy this. Works good, costs little, easy clean-up. Of course, if you WANT to have a REAL double boiler stored in your cupboard 99% of the time, taking up room, don't buy this!

I've only used it once so far, but I really like this double boiler. It's so much more efficient than buying an entire double boiler set. I don't mind that it doesn't have a lid, since I can use the lids from my other pots, but I do wish it had plastic handles. Having to hold onto the edge with an oven mitt in order to stir while it's heating is annoying.

Great cooking tool. My only warning is, it is much bigger than it looks (almost a full foot across at the wings). You're going to need a wide pan to use this with!

This thing is great - it works well and heats quickly; it generally doesn't get too hot, so you can hold the lip while stirring; it's lightweight and easy to clean; it's got a hole punched in the lip so you can hang it on your pot rack when you're done with it. Sure, it's not as sturdy as a double boiler, but it more than makes up for that in the above features, and I find it just as easy to use.

I bought this pan because it got some good reviews and despite my sense that the ridges might make it hard to scrape any melted chocolate/butter out of it. I thought I perhaps hadn't understood just how it fits into a pan. Alas! My initial impressions were correct. Melted chocolate IS hard to scrape out of the pan; and, invariably, some gets trapped in the ridges and remains in the pan. I think it's good to have at least one pan like this for traveling and for moments when a regular double broiler is in use. However, I'd be happier with it if the price were much, much lower. By the time one adds shipping, a lot of money has been invested in a product that really could be much better.