The best metal whisks really can do it all, whipping, beating, mixing, and blending wet and dry ingredients to perfection. We’ve recommended our favorite all-purpose whisk, or a version of it, for more than a decade. The OXO Good Grips 11" Balloon Whisk performs every task well, and it’s lightweight and comfortable to grip even for long periods. Interested in a whisk you can use in nonstick cookware? See our nonstick whisk review.
A good all-purpose metal whisk is an essential kitchen tool. We use one to blend dry ingredients; emulsify vinaigrettes and sauces; whip cream; beat eggs; mix batters, custards, and other thick, hot sauces; and much more. There are two basic styles of all-purpose whisk: French whisks have narrower heads, while balloon whisks have more bulbous heads. Many whisks on the market are hybrids that fall somewhere between the two styles. Ultimately, the whisk’s style isn’t the most important factor in its success; all the whisks we tested can get all the aforementioned jobs done. Instead, a few other features made certain models more effective, versatile, and durable, as well as easier to use.
We use whisks for many different tasks, including incorporating ingredients and making different types of sauces.
What to Look For
- Light Weight: Light whisks were easier to maneuver, especially for long periods, such as when we whipped cream. We found that the lighter the whisk was, the better; our top three choices all weigh less than 4 ounces.
- A Total Length of 11 to 12 Inches: Whisks measuring less than 11 inches occasionally felt a little short, bringing our hand closer to the splash zone when we whipped cream or made vinaigrette and nearer the heat when we made cheese sauce and pan sauce. Whisks measuring more than 12 inches often felt oversize—excessive when making a small batch of vinaigrette and prone to tipping out of the bowl if we left the handles resting on the edge while we took a break from whipping cream. The lengths of our two favorite whisks measured 11 inches and 11.5 inches.
- A “Skinny Balloon” Shape: Narrow French whisks were especially easy to maneuver, good at scraping cheese sauce off the sides of the saucepan and fond off the perimeter of the skillet when we made pan sauce. Wider balloon whisks covered more territory in a single swoop, so we needed fewer passes to incorporate shredded cheese into a sauce or to scrape up fond from a skillet. But they sometimes felt clumsy and awkward, especially for detail work. Several of our favorite whisks resemble what we call “skinny balloons,” with medium-size heads that provided an ideal combination of coverage and maneuverability. These models proved to be the most versatile.
- At Least 10 Moderately Flexible, Evenly Spaced Wire Loops: The more wire loops the whisk had, the more even and consistent the coverage it provided, ensuring that we could scrape more fond or cheese sauce in a single pass. With whisks that had at least 10 loops, there were never any gaps bigger than half an inch between the wires, so we never missed a spot as we did with whisks that had fewer loops and bigger gaps. We also liked loops that were flexible enough to hug the sides of pans but rigid enough to provide some resistance and power.
- A Thick, Grippy, Medium-Length Handle: Thick handles were easier for our hands to grip than thin ones, especially for longer tasks, such as whipping cream. We slightly preferred handles made from textured plastic or rubber, as they were easier to grip than metal handles, especially when wet. We generally liked handles that were at least 4 inches long—shorter ones gave us less to hold on to.
What to Avoid
- Heavy Weight: Heavy whisks are a chore to use, as they’re more challenging to move back and forth repeatedly. Unless you have arms of steel, you might think twice before investing in a whisk weighing more than 7 ounces.
- Thick, Rigid Wire Loops: Whisks with really thick wire loops felt like blunt instruments: unresponsive, hard to maneuver, and bad at conforming to the sides of pans as we scraped. They also made us worry about scratching our cookware.
- Excessively Flexible Loops: The most flexible loops didn’t give us enough power to scrape fond or cheese sauce off cookware, bouncing around and flinging bits of sauce back at us. They also bent out of shape easily, forcing us to repeatedly move them back into position so that we could get good coverage while whipping cream or integrating cheese into sauce.
- Extra Hooks or Rings: Several of the whisks we tested had hooks or rings at the top of the head that held all the wire loops together. In theory, these rings help keep the loops neat and evenly spaced. But in practice, they just served to collect cheese sauce or whipped cream, requiring finicky cleaning afterward.
- Narrow Handles: Skinny handles cramped our hands, making us work harder to hold on to them.
Other Considerations
- Hanging Ring: Some whisks come with rings on the ends of their handles. These are great if you like to hang your kitchen tools, but they can also dig into your hand if you like to grip your whisk toward the back of the handle, as many of us do.
- Make Foolproof Vinaigrette
- Whip 1 cup of heavy cream to stiff peaks
- Make cheese sauce
- Make the pan sauce from Pan-Roasted Chicken with Shallot and Vermouth Sauce
- Drop each whisk from counter height 10 times
- Whack against the counter 10 times
- Wash by hand five times; wash in the dishwasher five times
