Which Whisk…Say That 3 Times.

There is a lot of confusion about whisks in the culinary hopeful and we see it all the time in the shop. Like almost everything in the world of kitchen tools, manufacturers are the main source of this confusion. They make so many kinds of whisks, in odd shapes, and of new materials that it is hard to know what to buy. The question is, “which whisks do we actually need?”

Whisks are tools that have been around for thousands of years, used for various purposes over the years, but really are very basic mixers. Ultimately, a whisk is a necessary tool in our culinary arsenal.

The whisk is nothing more than a few bent wires attached to a handle. It can have anywhere between 2 and 20 wires. Some are made of thin wires, some thick. Some have wooden handles, some steel, some silicone. The movement of late has been to coat the wires with silicone. This is most practical in sauce whisks where people are concerned with scratching the bottom of their pans. There are many shapes but they all break down into three categories:

- Balloon whisks

- Sauce whisks

- Batter/dough whisks.

Balloon Whisks

The main purpose of a balloon whisk is to incorporate air into egg or cream based dishes. It has a very unique balloon like bulb of wires at the business end which increase the contact area of the whisk. For a balloon whisk, the more wires the better. Also, it is preferable to have thinner, flexible wires rather than thicker ones, as the thinner wires stress the eggs/cream less and do not press out air already incorporated. You want a well balanced whisk that feels good in the hand. The ideal balloon whisk has a flat bottom on the handle which would allow it to stand upright on the counter. Most whisks for sale today do not have this feature, preferring rounded bottoms or having holes or hooks. This means you must lay the whisk down, messing the counter or work surface. I like to look for whisks with silicone or nylon filling in the handle where the wires are attached. This feature stops liquids from reaching the hard to clean area in the handle preventing rusting. I am not a fan of silicone coated balloon whisk wires. It doesn’t make clean up any easier and I prefer the way the metal wires work the eggs or cream. Most experts recommend a 14″ balloon whisk, but 12″ will do just fine. It is a good idea to match the recipe, whisk and bowl size. A big whisk plus a big bowl means lots of room to beat in plenty of air. If you try to use and 12 or 14″ whisk in a 6″ wide bowl, you will find yourself frustrated and probably make a mess as well.

The following are good solid examples of a balloon whisk…

You will see now, a few whisks with a metal wire ball or ball like twist in the balloon portion of the whisk. The theory is that the moving ball will work more action into the whisk and reduce the time and effort required to complete the task. While this argument has some merit, there is a risk in over working the delicate nature of the egg or cream.

Sauce Whisk

Sauce whisks, commonly called French Whisks, are used for mixing and blending where there isn’t a need to incorporate air into the mixture. They have narrower wire end with wires that are thicker and more firm than the balloon whisk. The sauce whisk will still have a rounded end…typically. They are particularly good for use with pastry cream and hollandaise sauce. They come in long sizes like the balloon whisks, but the smaller sizes are more useful for mixing salad dressings or stirring a thick sauce in a sauce pan.

In the past few years, a unique design has emerged on the home market where the sauce whisk has a more squared top portion to make it easier to reach the corners of the sauce pan. These whisk come in traditional metal and silicone coated wires. As with the balloon whisk, I prefer the silicone injected into the wire attachment point. I would suggest a wooden or heat tempered silicone handle for your sauce whisk. The reason being is that the whisk is often left in the pan leaning against the side where heat can be transferred to the handle. Even though it may not be left long in the pan, a metal handle will quickly heat up. As for the silicone coated wires, well, here there may be merit. As long as the wires are thick and sturdy, the silicone coating will prevent potential scratching of the pan.

Unlike some, I include flat whisks in the sauce whisk category. The reason? Flat whisks are used for basically the same purposes. The flat whisk is excellent for making roux or pan sauces in shallow pans and for making simple dressings in shallow bowls. I have used my flat whisk to actually scramble the eggs in the skillet rather than doing so in a bowl first. The flat whisk has a width of about 3″ – 4″ and has 4 to 5 wires lying flat. I have a silicone coated wire flat whisk which is perfect for my non-stick pans. And when making gravy in the roasting pan, it is better than a standard sauce whisk as it covers a much wider surface area and reaches easily into the corners of the pan. This helps incorporate the flour and butter more evenly, preventing lumps.

You will also see coiled whisks that fit in this category. These whisks have a spiraled stainless coil in a round shape. Coil whisks are good for sauces unless it is a very thick sauce as they tend to clog up.

Batter or Dough Whisks

Dough whisks are made of two very heavy wires looped in such a way to allow batter to flow between them without clogging. The most sturdy version can be used for preliminary bread dough kneading. They are most useful for pancake and waffle batters as well as batter style quick breads or muffins. You can also use them for cake batters. They are very good at aerating and lightening the batter. These whisks are harder to find than the other two styles of whisks, but bakers with a few years under their belt, consider them invaluable.

Other Options

For many, using a whisk for omelets or scrambled eggs, blending a salad dressing or quickly mixing a few more liquid ingredients is overkill. They prefer to use a fork for such tasks. In fact, many “more experienced” (hint, hint) cooks have a special tool known as a Granny Fork. It is a fork with 3 or 4 sturdy tines flared in a wide flat pattern. For light quick blending or mixing, these folks use these forks. I have also seen blending forks, made of wood or metal which serve a similar function. The benefit of this fork is they are low tech, and easy to store and well, what Grandma used. I tend to use a mini-whisk for such small tasks, but to each their own.

Granny Fork

Blending Fork

If you are really old school, you can use a hand beater for many of these same functions. You know what I am talking about; a hand held egg beater powered by elbow grease. They are still sold in some better kitchen shops. These beaters are best for eggs, cream and thin batters. They require some muscle and coordination to use.

The final entry in the whisk category is the rare molinillo. This is a special wooden device used to froth up hot chocolate. It goes back to the Aztec Empire. You simply place the movable geometric wooden rings in the chocolate and spin it between the palms of your hands like you are trying to start a fire. It is a cool way to impress your friends and keep an old tradition alive.
Note: Be careful, you can easily spray yourself and your friends with hot chocolate if you mismanage your depth.

Now for the work adverse person, you can, of course, use electric powered mixers to do any of these tasks more easily. Just remember that when using even a low powered hand mixer you can ruin egg whites or cream very easily. The power they generate require you to go easy until you know the tool intimately and learn when to back down the speed or stop.

Summary

I have 4 whisks in my tool bins. I have a 12″ balloon whisk, a 10″ French whisk, a silicone coated flat whisk and a mini-whisk. And if you could own just one whisk, what would it be? I would say a medium sized balloon whisk. While it won’t be as perfectly suited to all tasks, it does cover the widest range of functions. Hopefully, you are now able to sort through the morass of choices.

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