Then I came across this nice little item and thought that for this price, I couldn't go wrong. Well, I was right for once.

This insert is so practical and beyond versatile!
It holds a variety of things in varying volumes while sitting sturdily in a host of pots. The dome shape allows you to whip up even a small amount of sauce without the ingredients being "lost" as a thin layer on the bottom of a big pot. It cuts down the double-boiling process by more than two-fold. The nice little measurement guidelines help ensure that you are using the right quantity. It is non-stick and cleans without having to scrub. Plus, it hardly takes up any space since it nests nicely in existing pots for storage.

I no longer take a long time and make a mess out of double-boiling. Hollandaise sauces, souffles and fondues are now a cinch to make. I like this so much that I'm picking another one up for a friend. Do your recipes a favor and get this too. You'll earn praises for your culinary speed.

50 of 53 found the following review helpful:

Hard to use  Apr 01, 2004
By J. Mathy "jmathy"
This is supposed to be a universal double boiler, but it's hard to use because it fits no pan well -- making it hard to stir, and giving you a limited "surface area" for use. Also, due to it's curved bottom, it won't stand up on its own if you remove it from the "boiling" pan (to set beside you as you mold candy, etc.)

48 of 53 found the following review helpful:

The Perfect Scrambled Eggs  Nov 07, 2009
By Coldfriday
Why does no one else make non-stick double boilers?! Thank god this one's terrific, but I am buying an extra should Nordic Ware ever lose their minds and discontinue these. It neither slips nor wobbles and it's dead cheap.

Eggs are pure protein; they stick to everything and you will spend hours trying to scrape the little bits away.

- Get out the plates and silverware so you don't have to bother with it later. Make coffee.
- Drink coffee and get out everything you need.
- Put a saucepan on the heat with 2 inches of water or so and bring to a simmer. Water should not touch base of boiler.What you are cooking with is the gentle heat of the steam on the boiler. Genius.
- Turn the heat as low as possible and plot the double boiler into your saucepan, maybe lube up the interior with a little butter. Everything is better with butter and it's just a little insurance and flavor to boot.
- Whisk up two or three eggs per audience member with a tiny squidge of cream or milk. (Do not salt. Salt after cooking. It does funky things with the water/protein emulsions. Oh, don't get me started...)
- Tip eggs into double boiler and confirm the heat is as low as it will go.
- Do some damn thing for the next 20 minutes, wafting back into the kitchen every so often to give the eggs a stir with a wooden spoon or other nonstick implement. Go for "moist soft curds".
-When the eggs are almost done (yes. right. "moist curds"), make and butter toast ("Toast!", I said. Not "tepid pale bread"!)
- If you are a real superhero, you've warmed the plates with a bit of hot water and a quick dry and will serve the lot with salt and pepper (bother after cooking). If you are a god, you'll bring this up to your wife's room with some juice, the coffee, and the paper. You have no idea what kind of points you can score from this kind of genius.

Well done and thanks.

17 of 17 found the following review helpful:

does the job  Dec 15, 2010
By 2SistersMom "2SisMom"
the product does what it says and is an inexpensive alternative to buying a double boiler set.
the few drawbacks are ...the shape is a bit too 'cone-like' where the pot goes too far into the outter pot (when melting chocolate the inner pot shouldn't ever hit the water) and the groves on the outside are also on the inside. they should have coated over the inside to make it completely smooth. the groves just hold alot of chocolate and make scraping the inside of the pot harder.
the biggest drawback though is the lack of a handle that doesnt get hot. it's hard to pour the chocolate into molds when holding this with one hand in a pot holder.

12 of 12 found the following review helpful:

Serves the purpose  Sep 18, 2009
By Stewey
I bought this b/c my new pot & pan set did not come with a dbl broiler. It was cheaper to buy this dbl broiler than buying the next larger pot/pan set. This product serves the purpose! I cook/bake a lot. For the times I need a dbl broiler, this works just fine. Granted, it doesn't sit as tight as a "true" dbl broiler but it doesn't move or tip either. I have to use a pot holder when I am stirring, which is no big deal. As another review noted, you can't sit it down b/c of the rounded bottom. All I do is sit it in another pot from my cabinet. There is a hole if you want to hang it. I store mine inside of the pot I use it for, put a paper towel down, then the pot lid upside down inside of it. I don't have much storage space yet this works for me. Very easy to clean.

See all 33 customer reviews on Amazon.com