Bain maries, also known as double boilers, are useful pieces of kitchen equipment for specialty cooking techniques such as making fondue, creme brulee and confections. Bain maries involved two components, the outer pot, in which water is boiled, and the insert, in which the cooking food is placed.

Bain marie distributors typically sell bain marie pots and lids separately, so you'll need to buy two bain marie pots and one lid to have a complete bain marie. Bain marie manufacturers also produce both stainless steel and polypropylene bain maries, so if you're shopping for a bain marie you'll have to choose a size and material.

When considering a double boiler, investigate the following options available from bain marie makers:

1. Shop for pots and lids separately from bain marie distributors;

2. Find bain maries in stainless steel or polypropylene;

3. Get specialty double boilers from bain marie suppliers.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Get both pots and covers from bain marie makers

If you're shopping for a bain marie, be aware that bain marie manufacturers produce and sell pots and covers separately. Look for pot inserts that are the right size for your food preparation needs and a lid to fit the insert, not the boiler pot.

I recommend: Most bain marie suppliers sell a range of stainless steel bain maries. Surfas and Able Kitchen both sell stainless steel bain marie inserts and lids online in a range of quart sizes.

Shop bain marie manufacturers for stainless steel or translucent kitchen wares

When shopping for a bain marie, check the selection of both stainless steel and translucent polypropylene double boilers available from bain marie distributors. While stainless steel is the traditional material for bain maries, many professionals prefer the translucence of polypropylene products.

I recommend: While some bain marie sellers offer only stainless steel inserts, other bain marie distributors offer polypropylene products as well. Instawares allows you to browse bain maries by size or material, with a range of quart sizes for sale in both stainless steel and polypropylene, and Wares Direct has a small selection of polypropylene bain marie inserts as well.

Buy specialty kitchen wares from bain marie makers

If you're looking for a specialty confection or food preparation product, try shopping with a bain marie seller for rare or unusual kitchen tools. Bain maries come in both industrial kitchenware sizes and in smaller kitchen sets for specialty home or small-scale use.

I recommend: Bain marie suppliers also sell smaller double boiler products for home use. Kitchen Emporium sells a bain marie set with torch, while Cooking.com has bain marie double boilers in various designs.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Be aware that bain maries rarely come as a complete pot. Instead, if you're stocking a professional kitchen, you will want to buy a range of bain marie insert sizes and lids corresponding to the inserts, and use the inserts with larger pots to create a complete double boiler.