Bain-marie is a chauffeured water bath used in cooking and laboratory work to provide gentle, even heat. It consists of a pan of hot water supporting a heat-safe container, preventing direct contact with flames and enabling precise temperature control. The term, borrowed from French, denotes a double boiler setup that protects delicate ingredients or reactions from scorching or agitation.
US: Rhotic pronunciation; ensure the R in Marie is pronounced and the vowel before is a clear /ə/ or /ɪ/ depending on speaker. UK: Non-rhotic influence tends to reduce the R; keep the Marie vowel clear but not harsh. AU: Often with a slightly more centralized vowel in Marie and a smoother transition between words. Throughout, practice with IPA guidance: /ˌbeɪn məˈriː/.
"The custard will set more evenly if you cook it in a bain-marie."
"She used a bain-marie to melt chocolate without scorching it."
"For the delicate emulsions, a bain-marie helps maintain stable heat."
"The chemist prepared the sample in a bain-marie to avoid overheating."
Bain-marie comes from French, literally translating to "bath of Marie". The phrase combines bain (bath) with Marie, referencing Saint Marie or Mary, a traditional symbol of warmth and gentleness in culinary and laboratory contexts. The concept dates to early modern kitchens and laboratories that used a water bath to regulate heat more evenly than direct flame. The term first appears in French cookery and science literature in the 18th century, with English adoption following in the 19th century as professional kitchens and labs standardized indirect heating methods. Over time, the word entered wider usage in recipes and laboratory protocols, maintaining its bilingual form in many contexts, though in English you may see “double boiler” as a direct translation. The cultural lineage reflects practical needs: protect fragile emulsions (like custards or chocolate), or maintain steady conditions for delicate reactions, without risking scorching or evaporation. Its enduring utility in culinary science and lab technique cemented Bain-marie as a standard term globally, even as variations such as the “water bath” or “double boiler” proliferated in everyday language. Modern usage retains the accent on Marie as borrowed from French, though pronunciation adaptions vary slightly by region.
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💡 These words have similar meanings to "Bain-Marie" and can often be used interchangeably.
🔄 These words have opposite meanings to "Bain-Marie" and show contrast in usage.
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Words that rhyme with "Bain-Marie"
-ary sounds
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Standard pronunciation is /ˌbeɪn məˈriː/ (US/UK) with the main stress on Marie. The first word rhymes with ‘rain’ and is lightly stressed, followed by a secondary pause before the stressed ‘ri’ syllable in Marie. In IPA: US/UK: ˌbeɪn məˈriː. Australian listeners may reduce the final /iː/ slightly, yielding a smoother /məˈɹiː/ in connected speech. If you’re teaching it aloud, emphasize the second syllable: ma-RIE. Listen for a gentle tilt of the tongue and a soft, non-rhotic vowel in the second syllable for many speakers.
Common errors include treating Bain as a heavy, stressed two-syllable word (beɪn with strong vowel) and misplacing stress on Marie as beˈnari or beɪnˈmari. A second mistake is flattening the second word into /ˈmeri/ without a clear /riː/ at the end. Correction: keep /ˈriː/ as a long E, maintain stress on Marie, and briefly pause between the two words: /ˌbeɪn məˈriː/. Practice by isolating the two parts and then blending slowly to preserve the final long vowel.
In US, UK, and AU, the first syllable Bain rhymes with rain and remains unstressed; the key variation is the final vowel: US/UK typically maintain a clear /riː/ with a long E; AU may have a slightly more centralized /ə/ in the second word before the /riː/. Rhoticity differences mainly affect the consonant r in Marie in some accents; however, in all three, the primary stress stays on Marie. The overall rhythm remains two-syllable, with a brief boundary between words.
It combines a French compound with two distinct stress patterns and a long final vowel in Marie. The challenge lies in the silent-ish vowel duration and the exact placement of stress on Marie, plus producing the French-origin order without blending into a single word. Pay attention to the hiatus between Bain and Marie and ensure /məˈriː/ is not shortened. Focus on the long /iː/ at the end and a light secondary stress on Bain.
In Bain-Marie, the final e in Marie is pronounced as a long /iː/ in English adaptations, so it sounds like /məˈriː/. The final vowel is essential to the correct pronunciation; dropping it changes the word to something unfamiliar. Keep the final /iː/ crisp while maintaining a light vowel in the first syllable. This mirrors how many loanwords retain vowel sounds in the second element.
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