All About Whisks

The magic maker

Making meals is a little like making magic. You toss some ingredients together and voila…they change into muffins or custard or soup.

Some days you may wish your magic wand was a little speedier. That it didn't take quite so long to put together a fabulous meal. If you're in search of a little kitchen magic, look no farther. Chefs agree that one of their favorite time saving tools is the kitchen whisk.

A clever companion

A whisk can be your quick and clever companion during many food adventures. The trick is to match the size and shape of your whisk to the task. Follow these recommendations from food experts at Bon Appetit as a good rule of thumb:

Use big rigid whisks for foods in large pots.

Use a medium whisk for soups, sauces, creams and custards.

Use a small whisk (about 10 inches long) for salad dressings, sauces and folding flour into batter.

The big balloon

Some whisks are longer and narrower, others are like big balloons. Use the big balloon whisk when you want to beat a lot of air into a mix, for making things like whipped cream or meringue. Choose whisks with thin, flexible wires for whipping air into batters. Use a whisk with thicker, more rigid wires for thicker mixtures like brownies.

Seal it up

When choosing a whisk, make sure it has the area sealed where the wires go into the handle. This helps the whisk stay clean and makes clean up much easier. This style may be a little more expensive, but will last longer and therefore cost less over time.

No crossing

Also make sure you choose a whisk with stainless steel wires that don't cross at the tips. This design makes it easier to combine wet and dry ingredients together and reduces the amount of clogging in the wires while whisking. Make sure you choose whisks that are dishwasher safe to save time and to help assure your whisks are thoroughly and safely washed.

Buy by the set

To ensure you always have the right size whisk for the task at hand, you should have whisks of several sizes and shapes. You can purchase whisks separately or save a little money and buy a set of whisks.

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