Bigger than it looks...
Great cooking tool. My only warning is, it is much bigger than it looks (almost a full foot across at the wings). You're going to need a wide pan to use this with!
Hard to Scrape Out Broiler Pan
I bought this pan because it got some good reviews and despite my sense that the ridges might make it hard to scrape any melted chocolate/butter out of it. I thought I perhaps hadn't understood just how it fits into a pan. Alas! My initial impressions were correct. Melted chocolate IS hard to scrape out of the pan; and, invariably, some gets trapped in the ridges and remains in the pan. I think it's good to have at least one pan like this for traveling and for moments when a regular double broiler is in use. However, I'd be happier with it if the price were much, much lower. By the time one adds shipping, a lot of money has been invested in a product that really could be much better.
Great Product
This thing is great - it works well and heats quickly; it generally doesn't get too hot, so you can hold the lip while stirring; it's lightweight and easy to clean; it's got a hole punched in the lip so you can hang it on your pot rack when you're done with it. Sure, it's not as sturdy as a double boiler, but it more than makes up for that in the above features, and I find it just as easy to use.
Super buy!
Talk about a perfect idea! Instead of having a dedicated double boiler for the infrequent sauces which need it, buy this. Works good, costs little, easy clean-up. Of course, if you WANT to have a REAL double boiler stored in your cupboard 99% of the time, taking up room, don't buy this!
Hard to use
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.)
