This apparatus keeps cooked food warm. A large tin pan, partially filled with boiling water, is placed where the temperature will remain hot but not boiling. A pot of cooked food is placed in the hot water. The term bain-marie also refers to a special small high-sided pan with lid and handle.
Practical cooking and dinner giving : a treatise containing practical instructions in cooking; in the combination and serving of dishes; and in the fashionable modes of entertaining at breakfast, lunch, and dinner, available at: https://d.lib.msu.edu/fa/59#page/57/mode/2up
