Which French term names a hot-water bath used to gently cook custards or melt chocolate? The technique is called a bain-marie.
A bain-marie places a cooking vessel inside a larger pan containing hot water. Water transfers heat more gently and evenly than a pan sitting directly over a flame, reducing hot spots and helping delicate mixtures avoid curdling, splitting, or scorching. In English, it is also called a water bath or double boiler.
The French expression comes from the medieval Latin balneum Mariae, meaning “Mary’s bath.” The name is traditionally associated with Mary the Jewess, an ancient alchemist credited in later accounts with developing related heating equipment, although water-bath heating was known in the ancient world before her era.
In cooking, the method is used for baked custards, crème brûlée, cheesecakes, hollandaise, beurre blanc, and chocolate. At sea level, a water bath cannot heat its contents above water’s boiling point of 100 °C, creating a natural temperature ceiling. It is not simply boiling food in water: the food container remains separate from the bath.