Bain Maries

What is a bain marie?

Bain marie is a cooking technique that allows you to heat or cook food evenly. A bain marie is a pan of water in which you place a container, usually a GN container, with food. The bain marie heats the water up gradually. The water acts as a buffer between the heat source and the food so it’s ideal when you need to heat something up slowly. As the water does not become hotter than 100⁰C, you can rest assured that the temperature in the container with the food does not rise above 100⁰C either.

A bain marie is used when the ingredients cannot get too hot because they will burn or separate, for example, when melting chocolate or heating sauces, dairy products and mixtures. The container that you place in the water seals the bain marie tightly so that the heat is not lost quickly.

What is the difference between bain marie and sous vide cooking?

You can easily compare an bain marie with a sous vide preparation. Simply put, it is called it sous vide ('under vacuum') when you heat up food in a vacuum package in the same way. Contrary to a bain marie, with sous vide the food (in the packaging) is placed directly into the container with water. Most sous vide appliances allow the water to circulate for even temperature distribution. Maxima also offers vacuum machines for vacuum packaging, as well as sous vide equipment such as a sous vide machine and a sous vide stick.

What are the characteristics of a bain marie?

• GN dimensions
• temperature indicator light
• heated electrically or by gas
• equipped with a handy tap to drain the water easily
• temperature adjustable up to 90ºC with a thermostat
• made from stainless steel so robust design and easy to clean

What types of bain maries are there?

Maxima has single and double bain maries. A single bain marie has one water reservoir so that all the containers in the bain marie reach the same temperature. A double bain marie has two water reservoirs with two thermostats so you can set the temperature of each reservoir individually. You also have the choice between an electric bain marie or a gas bain marie. Lastly, there are table models and appliances that are suitable for use in a cooking line.

You can generally determine the composition yourself by the size of the GN containers you put in it. By using several containers, you can keep several dishes warm at the same time. It’s important to take note if your desired appliance is supplied with or without GN containers. Of course, you can always order GN containers, trays and lids in various sizes from our webshop.

How do you clean a bain marie?

Cleaning a bain marie is as easy as using it. The appliance hardly gets dirty during normal use. After use, switch off the appliance and remove the individual Gastronorm containers. Keep in mind that hot water droplets may drip off and splash you. The GN containers can be washed in the dishwasher. Thanks to the handy drain tap, you can easily drain the water from the bain marie. It is important to note that this water may still be hot. A damp cloth and mild detergent are usually sufficient for both the interior and exterior. Dry the appliance with a dry soft cloth and do not assemble it until it is completely dry.

For more professional warming equipment, check out our webshop. There you can find a wide range of, among other things, soup kettles, hotplates and heating lamps.

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