What types of double boiler are there?

Double boilers are like other cookware in that they can be grouped according to material.

 

Warning: Cooking with aluminum increases your aluminum intake, because some aluminum gets in the food. Increased aluminum intake has been linked to Alzheimer's disease.

 

 

Generally, aluminum serves as a core heat conductor in cookware that has it, but some double boilers are strictly aluminum.

 

Aluminum is the least expensive option for your double boiler. Though lightweight, it has some strength, conducts heat well, and does not easily distort.

 

This metal reacts to alkaline and acidic foods, corroding. The taste of food being cooked is affected.

 

 

The special finish on these double boilers protect it from reacting with the food and therefore from corrosion.

 

Aluminum is a good heat conductor, and the finish makes it stick-resistant.

 

Double boilers made of anodized aluminum cannot go in the dishwasher. They tend to be darkly colored, making it difficult to discern slight color changes in the food being cooked. Do not cook highly acidic or highly alkaline foods in this kind of pan, because that will wear away the coating.

 

 

These heavy pans have their uses.

 

Cast iron is decently priced, on the lower end of the spectrum. It conducts heat evenly and holds heat well, though it heats slowly.

 

Iron rusts, stains and pits under exposure to moisture, air, and some foods.

 

 

Copper interacts with everything. Exposure to moist air produces a poisonous film on the copper, and salty food interacts to make it taste metallic. Therefore, copper double boilers are lined with tin, silver, or stainless steel.

 

Copper conducts heat evenly and efficiently, and it is very heat responsive, heating up quickly. But, when removed from heat, it also cools quickly, making it good for precise cooking of delicate foods so they do not burn.

 

It is pricey. If you want it to keep its bright shine, you must polish it regularly. You also should re-tin the interior every few years.

 

 

Because stainless steel does not conduct heat well, stainless steel double boilers should have a core or plate of aluminum or copper on the bottom—and, in better quality pans, up the sides—to assist in heat distribution and heat responsiveness. (Make sure the core or plate of the conducting metal is thick.)

 

Stainless steel has midrange pricing. It stays shiny, does not corrode, and does not react to foods. A strong material, it does not easily dent.

 

It does not conduct heat well or have a good response to heat.