A World of Whisks

We're awed by the whisk's unparalleled power to blend and aerate—no electricity required. And what other kitchen tool comes in so many fantastic permutations? Consider the examples pictured, from top to bottom. The sturdy whisk at top, from King Arthur Flour, is for mixing bread dough. It has a long wooden handle for leverage, and the stiff wire loops have an open design that moves through dough, as opposed to just pushing it around the bowl. The spring coil whisk, designed for sauces and gravies, is flexible enough to build up some added torque; it's great for beating eggs, too. There's nothing better than a ball whisk for making a pan sauce: The balls at the end of each prong scrape and deglaze the bottom of the pan, then thrash through the sauce until it's free of lumps. The next whisk's stem, twisted like a cocktail stirrer, and compact springs make it our go-to tool for mixing foamy drinks. And the whisk pictured at bottom, with a bendy handle that adapts to most any size bowl, is just the thing for a vinaigrette.