From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Cooking utensil
A
whisk
is a
cooking utensil
which can be used to blend
ingredients
smooth or to incorporate air into a mixture, in a process known as
whisking
or
whipping
. Most whisks consist of a long, narrow handle with a series of wire loops joined at the end. The loops can have different shapes depending on a whisk's intended functions. The wires are usually metal, but some are
plastic
for use with
nonstick
cookware. Whisks are also made from
bamboo
.
Whisks are commonly used to whip egg whites into a firm foam to make
meringue
, or to whip
cream
into
whipped cream
.
Etymology
[
edit
]
The word
whisk
, given its similarity to equivalent words in modern
Scandinavian languages
, was probably borrowed from
Old Norse
.
[1]
It had early use in the
Scots language
as
wisk
and
wysk
.
[2]
History
[
edit
]
Bundles of twigs, typically
apple
, have long been used as whisks; often the wood used would lend a certain fragrance to the dish. An 18th-century
Shaker
recipe calls to "Cut a handful of
peach
twigs which are filled with sap at this season of the year. Clip the ends and bruise them and beat the cake batter with them. This will impart a delicate peach flavor to the cake."
[3]
[4]
The bamboo whisk or
chasen
was invented in the late 15th century by
Murata Juk?
, who commissioned its production by Takayama Minbunojo Nyudo Sosetsu.
Chasen
were presented to
Emperor Go-Tsuchimikado
.
[5]
[6]
The process of producing
chasen
was kept secret and passed on by patrilineally by family craftsmen for hundreds of years.
[7]
The wire whisk was invented sometime before 1841.
[8]
In the United States,
cranked rotary egg beaters
became more popular than whisks in the 20th century.
Julia Child
is credited with re-introducing the wire whisk in her first ever televised appearance, in 1963.
[9]
[10]
[11]
Types
[
edit
]
Type
|
Description
|
Photo
|
Balloon whisk
|
The most common shape is that of a wide teardrop. Balloon whisks are best suited to mixing in bowls, as their curved edges conform to a bowl's concave sides.
|
|
French whisk
|
With longer, narrower wire loops than a balloon whisk, the French whisk has a more cylindrical profile, suiting it to deep, straight-sided pans.
|
|
Flat whisk / roux whisk
|
A flat whisk has the loops arranged in a flat successive pattern. It is useful for working in shallow vessels like skillets (in which a
roux
is normally prepared).
|
|
Gravy whisk / spiral whisk
|
A gravy whisk commonly has one main loop with another wire coiled around it. The angle of the whisk head is ideal for mixing gravy, jello, batters and sauces.
|
|
Twirl whisk / coil whisk
|
A twirl whisk has one single wire that is spiralled into a balloon shape. Designed to remain stationary in a bowl while the user pumps the handle up and down, it circulates liquids readily throughout a bowl. It is not suitable for whisking in the traditional sense, since dragging the whisk through a liquid or batter simply stretches out the coils, but is ideal for beating eggs.
|
|
Ball whisk
|
Ball whisks have no loops whatsoever. Instead, a group of individual wires comes out of the handle, each tipped with a metal ball. The heavy balls are capable of reaching into the corners of a straight-sided pan. Since there are no crossing wires, the ball whisk is easier to clean than traditional looped varieties. Manufacturers of ball whisks also purport that their shape allows for better
aeration
.
|
|
Chasen
/ bamboo whisk
|
A
chasen
is an integral part of Japanese tea ceremonies, used to stir or whip
matcha
into the desired consistency.
|
|
Cage whisk / ball whisk
|
A cage whisk, sometimes also referred to as a
ball whisk
, is a balloon whisk with a small spherical cage trapped inside of it, which in turn holds a metal ball.
|
|
Mechanisms
[
edit
]
Since the 19th century, various mechanical devices have been designed to make whisking more efficient, under the names "egg beater", "rotary mixer", etc.
See also
[
edit
]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Whisks
.
Look up
whisk
in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"whisk, v."
.
Oxford English Dictionary
(Online ed.).
Oxford University Press
.
doi
:
10.1093/OED/4071942243
.
(Subscription or
participating institution membership
required.)
- ^
"whisk, n."
.
Oxford English Dictionary
(Online ed.).
Oxford University Press
.
doi
:
10.1093/OED/9758221409
.
(Subscription or
participating institution membership
required.)
- ^
Morse, Flo (1987).
The Shakers and the World's People
. UPNE. p. 51.
ISBN
0874514266
. Retrieved
15 August
2012
.
- ^
Miller, Amy Bess Williams; Persis Wellington Fuller (1970).
The best of Shaker cooking
. Macmillan.
ISBN
0020098103
.
- ^
"Kogei Japan"
.
- ^
"The story of Japanese tea ceremony and Chasen (Tea whisk) has started in Nara I Voicecream Nara"
. Archived from
the original
on 2021-04-10
. Retrieved
2021-04-10
.
- ^
"The Way of Whisks | July 2016 | Highlighting Japan"
.
- ^
See for example P. Masters,
The Young Cook's Assistant and Housekeeper's Guide
, London, 1841, pp. 222-3, 265
- ^
Kennedy, Pagan (11 October 2012).
"Who Made That Whisk?"
.
The New York Times
. Retrieved
20 September
2016
.
- ^
"A Julia Child lesson: The whisk"
.
Associated Press
. Retrieved
15 August
2012
.
- ^
"Whisk"
. The Reluctant Gourmet
. Retrieved
15 August
2012
.
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