Whisk

The shapes

Balloon whisk

Wide, rounded, many flexible wires. Maximum air incorporation. For egg whites, cream and anything you are trying to make voluminous.

French whisk

Narrower, more elongated, stiffer wires. Better in a saucepan and better for emulsifying — mayonnaise, hollandaise, vinaigrette — where you want shear rather than air.

Flat or roux whisk

A flattened coil. Gets into the corner where a pan base meets its side, which is exactly where a roux or a gravy catches. The most under-owned whisk.

Spiral or ball whisk

A coil or wire balls on a handle. Good for small quantities in a bowl or a jug.

Danish dough whisk

A flat open spiral. For bread and thick batters, where a normal whisk clogs solid.

Silicone-coated

Necessary if you use non-stick pans, and slightly less effective than bare wire.

Which to buy

• A medium balloon whisk if you only own one. It does most jobs adequately.
• A flat whisk as the second. It transforms sauce and gravy making because it reaches the corner of the pan.
• A large balloon whisk if you whip egg whites or cream by hand regularly.
• Look for a sealed handle — cheap whisks have a gap where the wires enter the handle, which traps water and food and cannot be cleaned.
• Stainless steel wires that do not splay. Squeeze the head; it should spring back.

Electric whisks and stand mixers

A hand-held electric whisk does in one minute what takes five by hand, and for meringue, cream and creaming butter and sugar it is a genuine labour saver. It also makes over-whipping far easier, because the margin between stiff peaks and grainy is a few seconds at high speed.

A stand mixer does the same job hands-free and adds serious dough-kneading capacity. It is a substantial purchase and it earns its place only if you bake regularly.

Neither replaces a hand whisk for a sauce, a dressing, a batter or anything in a pan, which is most whisking. And for cream, finishing the last few strokes by hand is the reliable way to stop at the right point.

Technique

• Whisk from the wrist, not the shoulder. It is faster and far less tiring.
• Use a bowl wider than the whisk head so there is room to move.
• Tilt the bowl when whipping small quantities so the whisk stays submerged.
• Stabilise the bowl with a damp cloth underneath, so you have a hand free.
• For emulsions, go fast and add fat slowly. For foams, go fast and steady and watch for the peak stage.
• Stop early. Both cream and egg whites are easier to fix by whisking more than by having gone too far.

Common questions