Placing a ceramic bowl over stainless steel saucepan I have a few ceramic bowls that are oven, microwave, and dishwasher safe (I normally hand-wash them, though). I was looking at recipes for lemon curd and some of them recommended putting them in a metal bowl over a saucepan that has steaming water in it. Is it possible to instead use a ceramic bowl? It would not touch the water below, only along the rim of the saucepan.

Would this be bad for the bowl? I can deal with a few aesthetic scratches and scuffs on the side.

Will this take a lot longer to heat up?
It will take longer to heat than a thin metal bowl. It probably wouldn't crack, being oven-safe - it's just being exposed to steam, not direct flame, so long as it is above the water, not sitting on the bottom of the pot (which is what you describe.)