Very often, reading a cream recipe,gentle dough or cosmetic mask, we meet the expression "water bath". It would seem that everybody knows from childhood what it is, but, nevertheless, the question of how to make a water bath correctly does not lose its relevance, especially for young housewives who are just starting to grasp the basics of culinary art.
So, let's try to understand the intricacies of thisprocess. The first question is when and why a water bath is needed. It is worth paying attention to this method of heating and cooking in cases where:
- required to melt foods sensitive tohigh temperatures in such a way as to prevent them from burning and sticking to the walls of dishes. With the help of a water bath melt chocolate, butter or a soap base for homemade soap making.
- Необходимо подогреть какие-либо ингредиенты до relatively low temperature (50-60 °). This is often necessary in the manufacture of masks for hair or face, which include natural oils - when heated, they are better absorbed and have a much more noticeable effect.
- It is necessary to prepare herbal teas or herbal infusions, without losing a large number of useful ingredients, which are destroyed by boiling.
- There is a need to heat products that are prone to change in structure under the influence of temperature - yolk, gelatin, etc.
In all of the above cases, as in a numberother, it is very important to know how to make a water bath. It also has its own subtleties and rules, the knowledge of which will allow you to avoid common mistakes.
First of all, the water bath will turn out to be a success if the dishes are chosen correctly, but these are not all the details that you should pay attention to.
- The bottom pan or bowl should be with a thick bottom and, if possible, thick walls. In this case, the boiling will not be so violent and water drops will not fall into the mass you are preparing.
- Make sure to cover the bottom of the bottom utensils with a clean towel made of flax or cotton - this will make the boil even smoother, and this is the key to making a water bath.
- Upper dishes should be of such a diameter thatits bottom touched the water column, but the walls remained in the air. In this position, the effect will be maximum - the upper bowl will be treated with hot steam, and there will be practically no water to touch it. Pick up the dishes that fit each other in diameter, and remember this “pair” - next time you will save time on finding suitable vessels.
- Water bath at home impliesconstant stirring of the mixture, located in the upper bowl. This helps to control all changes in consistency and not to miss the moment when the bowl needs to be removed from the fire.
- The bowl should be lowered into a large saucepan only after boiling water in it, otherwise the process of heating the prepared mixture will be disturbed, and the result may turn out to be completely different from what we would like.
- При приготовлении отваров целебных растений можно do not stir the mixture continuously, as the burning will not happen here. It is better to cover it with a lid to prevent volatilization of essential oils, which are often the main active ingredients of traditional medicine.
- If the diameter of the top dishes almost coincideswith the lower pan, it is worthwhile to worry in advance about how it can be pulled out after heating. It may be worth hanging it over water with a thick thread or making improvised pens, if there are none.
These are the basic rules regarding howmake a water bath without making mistakes. But even if the first time you do not succeed - do not worry. Two - three times - and you will develop the necessary skill that allows you to do everything easily and quickly.
