My husband, you see, makes a funny chocolate sauce by melting chocolate with some heavy cream, and then he pours it on just about anything. Despite what I've told him about the merits of double boiling, he continues on.
Until recently, we didn't have the right pan for him to do his naughty little job. And come to think of it, we thought to ourselves, we didn't have the right pan for warming up milk for morning teas and coffees either.
Enter, the butter warmer.
This KitchenAid 2-cup Butter Warmer has brought peace and harmony to our kitchen. And I'm finding that I use it constantly to melt butter and to reduce small amounts of liquid.
It's one of those products that has a list price of $60, but you can find it pretty much anywhere else for around half that. I got mine at Broadway Panhandler for about $30.
• Pans.com ($29.75)
• Amazon.com ($29.99)
• Cutleryandmore.com ($29.95)

Comments (23)
LOVE a small saucepan with a spout, and love it even more when a specialty pan goes into heavy rotation . . .
back when we were warming our milk for cafe con leche
I got a small circulon pan with a spout
milk comes off it like paper
after it dries
also perfect for oatmeal and errant husband choco habits
I've been dreaming of such a vessel! Time to remind my boyfriend that he owes me a Christmas gift....
I want this! I use a pyrex measuring cup for such tasks which in theory this should work just fine on a low flame. However, last fall I had one (it must have been really poorly made, or something) EXPLODE into a million tiny pieces of safety glass. Luckily I didn't even get burned, let alone lose an eye. This would put an end to all that madness.
No! Pyrex glass even in theory does not work on an open flame, exactly because of what happened to you. If you use any of their bakeware, you'll see that they expressively warn you not to use it on open flames. The heat from even a low flame will be much, MUCH higher then an oven set to 400 F. Think about it this way, you can put your hands in an oven that is 400 F, but you can't (or shouldn't) put your hands in open flames, low or no. Glad you didn't get hurt.
guido, was that pan coated with Teflon? If it was, I think you're better off with stainless.
regards,
trillium
Trillium or anyone: I have heard the same about Pyrex, and yet I was given a vintage Pyrex double boiler, which surely must be made for use over a low flame, no?
Lesley - most likely, yes. Pyrex makes chemistry beakers and all that kind of fun stuff too, so they DO make things that work on an open flame.
(And on the subject... I have one of those teeny little spouted pots that is old Revere Visions clear glass. It never makes it back into the cabinets it gets used so much.)
I have been looking for a pan with a spout for quite some time. I like this one, but I wish it were bigger. The bigger size would come in handy when I am making chai, and I need to strain the contents of the pan. Having a spout would make straining easier. However, when you are making a pot of chai, it is nice to have more than a two cup capacity.
more on Pyrex: if you use it for bakeware PLEASE remember to let the dish completely cool before you wash it. hot Pyrex bakeware dishes have also been know to explode when put under water. (and i have friends who can testify). I a Pyrex measuring cup and but use it to measure out cold stuff.
I love this little butter warmer!
pierre, my parents' pot set has spouts on all sizes except for the biggest. don't remember what brand this is/was, but probably something cheap purchased in the mid-90's from a non-specialty source. you could probably wander the aisles of your local good will and find something.
Thanks Opponax, I might do that this weekend. Enjoy.
I love these little spouted pots, but I wish they made a lefty-friendly version. I'm no good pouring with my right hand...
Awww, my mom has the suburban classic Revereware version of this pot, which she still uses to this day. (Despite our protests over putting an aluminum pot over high heat.) But this version here--so cute! And KitchenAid makes great pots. I bought my husband the 5-piece five-ply stainless set for Christmas a few years back and they've been fantastic. Definitely rivals All-Clad. In fact, we prefer the handle ergonomics of the KitchenAid cookware to our All-Clad, it's much more balanced.
$30 at Panhandler, huh? Because what my teeny kitchen needs is one more pot ; )
just googled around a bit and found that target has saucepans up to 3 quarts with spouts. fancy they're not, but they'll do a pot of chai.
Pierre, if you're in NYC
B'way Panhandler had some larger pots with spouts
(and rather oddly shaped handles - an innovation in ergonomics)
They were on special with their moving sale, last time I was there...
Hang on...from what I know Pyrex isn't owned by Corning anymore, and therefore, is no longer made from borosilicate glass. That's why older ones worked fine on flame but newer ones don't. Pyrex is owned by a kitchen company now and only makes kitchen stuff with the name "Pyrex".
I work in a laboratory, and we use Corning glass beakers, flasks, etc., which are borosilicate, but when we use them over open flame we take all sorts of precautions.
regards,
trillium
Thanks again, Guido and Opoponax. I thought Braodway Panhandler recently closed. Maybe it was just the store on Broome St. I'll check B'way Panhandler and maybe Target. Thanks.
I love the idea of these little warmers (I like ones that look more vintagey), and I'd probably use mine a lot if I had one, but I've never really understood why melting things in a microwave doesn't do just as well. Is there something I'm missing?
Pierre - The Panhandler is still open in SoHo, and will not be moving to the new location on 8th Street until the end of the summer.
Lisa - 1) Not everyone has a microwave (I don't!) 2) One disadvantage of using the zapper is that you don't really have control of the "cooking" process unless you press your face up against the window and watch until whatever you're warming up gets over-zapped. It is for this reason that I prefer the stove-top any day.
I have TWO small with spout VISIONS sauce pans. I use them frequently because they are indestructible. I know these were a regretted box of many in the 1980s because they burned food but with a dishwasher, they are great as an economical choice.
I've considered getting the matching All-Clad butter warmer-
http://206.210.90.92/images/products/sls_butter_warmer.jpg
but my wife thinks it's silly. We have 2 of the one quart sacier pans, so we really don't need one-
http://206.210.90.92/images/products/sls_saucier_5211.jpg
I recently visited NYC and Broadway Panhandler; they were about to move to a new location that Sunday (9/9/06. Here's the new address: 65 East 8th Street, NYC. Hopefully the phone no is the same (212) 966-3434.
I bought a heavy duty Faberware butter warmer (which works great!) that is nearly identical for about $10 on Amazon.
I was just going to echo Rachel's comment. The Kitchen Aid anodized aluminum butter warmer is just $15 and eligible for free shipping on Amazon.