Sometimes you are surprised to find yourself reaching for a particular kitchen tool again and again. You often pull it, dirty, from the dishwasher and wash it by hand because you need it. Cooking at someone else's house, you miss it. That's how it is with my small whisk.
I never expected this little whisk to become one of my favorite cooking tools. I have always had larger whisks on hand, the kind you might use to whip up half a dozen eggs or a 9-inch cake. But most of the time, I am cooking for just two people — consuming four eggs in one sitting, tops, and not many whole cakes — and a large whisk tips awkwardly out of the small bowl I'm using and is just generally not worth the bother of pulling it out.
Not so with my smaller 9-inch whisk. It fits comfortably in my hand and smaller mixing bowls. It is perfect for whipping up a quick vinaigrette or eggs for two. And it is better at reaching the edges of the pan when making a sauce. For the kind of cooking I do, it is one of the most useful tools, and one I reach for almost every day.
• Find it: OXO Good Grips 9-inch Whisk, $8.99 on Amazon
Have you come across a kitchen tool that you have found surprisingly useful?
Related: Surprisingly Cool (And Useful!) Tool: Garlic Peeler
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I couldn't live without my small wisk and my small, handheld grater. I think I use both of those tools every single day.
Oh, totally not unexpected at all! This is hands-down my single favorite and most-used kitchen utensil. I have the exact Oxo one above. For our weekend house, I got similar one but with a metal handle (from Crate and Barrel), but just doesn't feel as good in the hand as the Oxo one, so I ended buying another Oxo. In any case, yes, this size whisk is SO useful for so many things.
I have a couple of larger whisks for the big jobs, but just use a fork for the smaller ones. My constant go to is a small hand-held mandoline. It's small enough to fit in a drawer, but makes slicing a whole onion, tomato, or potato a breeze. I have a larger mandoline, but this one is the perfect size for my wife and I.
I am downright annoying about my devotion to my favorite whisk. It's an old Joyce Chen model with a wooden handle and it breaks my heart that I cannot find one anywhere.
Because I know it will break someday, I am constantly on the lookout for a suitable replacement. Whenever I test them, though, I always think the tines are too thick (and therefore won't mold into the curved bottom of a bowl) or too thin (and bend in a thick batter). I look forward to giving the Good Grips whisk a try.
While I'm here, I'll also mention that it drives me crazy when TV cooks use a wooden spoon to stir something in a pot...a whisk is the right tool for the job!
i have the pictured whisk and share your love of it, but i think my absolute favorite kitchen essential - and one i didn't anticipate loving as much as i do - is our old wooden spoon. it's thick, takes a beating, and SO much sturdier than the set i bought at target when i first moved out of my parents' house.
i hope it never falls apart. if it does, i will most certainly cry.
This one is so cute...umm for me it's my. Non stick pan and wooden spatula,..:)
I'm with somewhiteguy on just using a fork on the smaller things
My small whisk sat in my drawer unused for ages until I had a lightbulb moment realizing that if you use the small whisk for things in smaller bowls and measuring cups, the whisk doesn't fall out of the bowl and make a mess on the counter when you stop whisking. This is possibly a realization I should have come to earlier in my cooking career, but I haven't looked back since!
I'll occasionally use a fork when I feel lazy and/or haven't done the dishes, but I find that for vinaigrettes and sauces nothing beats the small whisk.
Same here on the small whisk. I use it a lot more often than the large one since I'm usually cooking for 3 and I usually make half-recipes when I bake. The other thing I couldn't live without and use at least once a day is my rubber spatula.
Forks. That's it.
A pair of chopsticks. You can whip, stir, chop, pick up the errant peppercorn or hunk of steak, and never hear that grating metal on metal sound.
I agree with the small whisk! I thought it would just clutter up the drawer, but we actually get a lot of use out of it.
We have a lot of small saucepans, so I use long handled spoons (used for parfait glasses) when I cook with them. They're just the right size.
I have a tiny whisk that my mother gave me because she has one that she says she uses all the time. It's been one of my favorite kitchen gifts ever. I LOVE it and really, I use it all the time. You wouldn't think something so tiny and impractical looking would be so useful! And as an added bonus -- it's adorable!
Chopsticks. I use them as a whisk or as most people use tongs.
My favorite tool is a bottle scraper I found on cool tools: http://www.kk.org/cooltools/archives/004791.php
I have a long and short one and am finding lots of uses for it. I use it when baking in place of a spatula to get the last of my batter into a pan. I use it for all my viscous/sticky ingredients that need to be measured in a measuring cup. I use it to reach the last bit of jam or peanut butter or salsa from a jar.
I love my flat whisk- especially when mixing thicker batters, it doesn't get caught in the wires. I must own over 20 different whisks, but this is the one I'm always reaching for.
So funny...just this morning I was thinking that I need to add a small whisk to my kitchen wish list!