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Looking to mix things up? We researched dozens of the most popular whisks available today before purchasing 10 of the best to compare side-by-side. Our team of culinary experts spent hours in the kitchen cooking with these indispensable tools, analyzing important aspects like versatility, design, and ease of use. After mixing batters, whipping eggs, and emulsifying dressing, we offer our test results and unbiased opinions for these indispensable devices. Our comprehensive review provides an unparalleled level of examination, backed up by hours of actual cooking experience, to help you find the best whisk for your own kitchen.
The design engineers at OXO always seem to be hard at work improving upon classic designs, and the OXO Good Grips 11" Better Balloon Whisk is no exception. This essential tool has the stiffest wires of any balloon-style model we tested, which results in superior performance — from combining heavy batches of dry ingredients to whisking and aerating egg whites to emulsifying salad dressing. Ergonomics are always at the top of the list for OXO products, and this whisk portrays that feature wonderfully. The non-slip grip tapers so that the widest part rests comfortably against your palm, allowing you to easily pinch higher up on the neck for improved agility when whipping.
The Better Balloon is narrower than the other options we reviewed. However, the stiff wires of this classic balloon shape prevent the whisk from flexing and reaching into tight corners of saucepans. It is lightweight and quick-moving, but still rather bulky for mixing in small bowls. The 10 tines — which is the second most in our review — improve performance, but it also means cleaning takes longer when you have to hand wash off a sticky batter. Even so, these are all very minor criticisms for an otherwise excellent workhorse for all your cooking necessities.
There is a reason “good grips” is in the name of this product. OXO is known for designing their products to be ergonomic, and the grip of this whisk is no exception.
Credit: Aaron Rice
Best Bang for Your Buck
Amazon Basics Stainless Steel 3-Piece Wire Whisk Set
The Amazon Basics Stainless Steel 3-Piece Wire Whisk Set scored the highest overall in performance and is a clear winner for anyone whose highest priority is value. This 3-in-1 set won't break the bank and allows you to choose the proper size for the job at hand. The stainless steel wires are efficient and quick-moving, making any task a breeze. Like the OXO models we tested, these have similarly contoured handles that feature a sticky rubber grip.
Unlike the OXO options, the pieces in the Amazon Basics set have wires lacking an epoxy seal where the tines meet the grip. It doesn't appear to be a problem when it comes to handwashing, but we do wonder about water penetration into the grips under the higher-pressure conditions of a dishwasher. Even though they present an incredible value as a set, you will obviously have to find extra storage space for these three full-size utensils, which could present an issue in a small kitchen. But you can also share your love of baking with friends and family by keeping one for yourself and gifting the other two!
With three whisks to choose from, you are almost guaranteed to always have the right tool for the job.
Even though this is a specialty tool primarily used for making sauces, gravies, and roux, the OXO Good Grips Flat Wire Whisk is so well designed that it has earned its place as an essential in our kitchens. Its flat shape works comfortably around the edges of pans, and provides the same style of non-slip grip as our top contender. The stainless steel tines are organized so that the outside one is stiff and easily able to break up clumps; the inside tines are softer and flexible, allowing for more delicate mixing, resulting in a silky smooth consistency.
The Flat Wire Whisk is somewhat lacking in versatility compared to the classic balloon shape. For instance, it eventually whips eggs into a consistent mixture, but it is tough to grab onto and break the yolk at first. The grip sports the patented OXO non-slip design, but for some reason, it is significantly smaller — which is odd, considering that the OXO Better Balloon only measures 1 inch longer. Still, if your culinary goals include mastering the five French mother sauces, then this savvy utensil is a must-add to your kitchenware arsenal.
If you are looking to cook up a silky gravy with consistency, a flat whisk is a must.
The OXO Good Grips 9" Better Silicone Whisk is just that: a silicone version of our top-performing model from the same manufacturer. This slightly more petite, 9-inch version is set up with 12 slightly stiffer silicone tines, resulting in improved performance over other, much more flexible models. It is ultra-lightweight, and the wires are adept at reaching into corners of a bowl to improve batter consistency. While stainless steel wires often make a racket when working in a mixing bowl, silicone tines offer a quieter experience — even working whipped cream in a stainless steel bowl, this whipper is practically silent.
It certainly comes down to user preference, but our testers feel that silicone simply doesn't rebound against the bowl as well as stainless steel wires. The consequence is a slightly more sluggish whipping motion, which is less efficient and requires more work to achieve the same results. Although the Better Silicone is a few inches smaller than the Better Balloon, the grip is much smaller and not quite as comfortable to handle. But like its stainless-steel counterpart, this silicone model is bound to become a staple tool of any kitchen and offers a quieter overall whipping experience.
Although the tines are more flexible than stainless steel, they beat almost as effectively and at a fraction of the noise level (especially when mixing in a steel bowl.)
The Danish dough whisk, or “brodpisker” is a specialty mixer designed specifically to handle heavy doughs — like those for biscuits, bread, or pasta. Although they may appear with a slight variation in form, the stiff, thick wires twisted to form three tightening concentric loops are ubiquitous. The long, wooden handles of the Coson Home Danish Dough Whisk Set of 2 are as functional as they are stylish, with the added length giving the necessary leverage to cut through heavy, shaggy doughs with ease. Most importantly, the Coson comes as a set of two, offering both a superior value and improved efficiency if you use them in tandem.
Despite their odd appearance, these are a surprisingly popular take item, particularly among bakers and pasta makers. Unfortunately, they are really only good at one job. These will not whip, aerate, or even do a very good job at combining flours. But when it comes to mixing milk into a biscuit dough — or keeping your hands clean as you slowly add flour to your mix — these will fill an indispensable roll in your kitchen. If you're in search of a specialty whisk to help you make the best homemade bread or pasta, look no further.
As a substitute for a hand mixer, Danish dough whisks are really intended to be used in pairs.
Credit: Aaron Rice
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A quality whisk is an essential tool for any kitchen.
Credit: Aaron Rice
Why Trust GearLab
Before immersing ourselves in all things mixing-related, our team of experts performed their due diligence by spending hours online researching some of the best and most popular products on the market. We then purchased everything in this review at retail value to help ensure an unbiased review. From there, we took to the kitchen for some seriously intensive testing, whipping eggs, emulsifying dressings, and mixing dry ingredients. By carefully crafting a detailed testing plan and comparing products side-by-side, we are able to bring you a highly comprehensive review. Whether you are a professional baker looking for a new tool to help ease your workload, or an amateur chef hoping to improve the consistency of your batters, our guide is designed to help you find the best whisk for your kitchen.
To help us mix things up a bit — yes, that is a whisk pun — we enlisted the help of one of our kitchen experts, Aaron Rice. Aaron learned to cook from his family at a young age and has spent the better portion of a decade working in and around professional kitchens. Nowadays, he and his wife grow and co-manage an on-site market garden for a fine dining restaurant in Santa Fe, NM. Outside of his love of cooking and sharing good food, Aaron works as an avalanche educator, ski patroller, and also contributes as a reviewer for OutdoorGearLab.
Testing products side-by-side is our secret sauce.
We make sure to push each product to their limit. Here, we're testing the strength of the zYoung Mini Whisk set.
By cooking with each of these products in our own kitchens, we can honestly endorse or effectively dispel any marketing myths.
Analysis and Test Results
Although it may not see daily use like your favorite chef knife or spatula, there is a reason you see a whisk in the drawer of every kitchen — it is an essential tool for practically any kind of cook. Some may consider whisks to be a 'specialty' item, but without one, you can never hope to achieve a beautifully silky batter or adequately aerate the egg mixture for a creamy quiche. These handy utensils come in various shapes and sizes, and to directly compare different models, we considered four metrics designed to be mutually exclusive and comprehensive: versatility, design, ease of use, and cleaning. By testing these tools side-by-side, we are able to rank them relative to one another. So while some may score lower than others, we choose only to test some of the best products on the market — any of these are a worthy addition to either your professional or home kitchen.
What's the Best Value?
It's a rare case that our highest-scoring product is also one of the lowest priced, but that's exactly what's going on here. Our top-rated product, the Amazon Basics Whisk Set, offers three versatile, different-sized whisks for the price of many other single whisks we tested. The OXO Good Grips Flat Wire Whisk and OXO Good Grips 11" Better Balloon Whisk are similarly priced and also high-scoring, but you only get one compared to the Amazon Basics' three.
Which one is the best for your kitchen? We tested a variety, so that you have options to choose from.
Credit: Aaron Rice
Versatility
While many whisks are designed to improve efficiency for a very specific task, most of us are looking for a single, workhorse tool that we can use to achieve consistent results across many projects. Clearly, there is the right tool for the job — however, for the sake of our wallets and the limited space in our kitchen drawers, we like to make sure a utensil can handle a variety of tasks.
A direct comparison of shapes included in this review. From the left: double balloon, balloon (piano wire), French whip, flat.
Credit: Aaron Rice
Types of Whisks
There are a surprising number of designs for this seemingly simple tool; some of which are versatile workhorses, and others were invented for very specific tasks. Here is a quick breakdown of types and their intended purposes:
Balloon: Also known as a “piano wire” whisk, this is your classic design, great for most tasks, from mixing smooth batters to combining dry ingredients.
French: Also known as a “French whip,” these have slightly tighter tines that excel at emulsifying (think classic French sauces) and reaching into tight corners.
Flat: Also known as a “roux whisk” - a name that defines its purpose. These are designed for sliding around the edges of a saucepan while incorporating flour into liquid to make a roux or gravy.
Ball: Not at all a gimmick, these excel in working flat surfaces of saucepans and reaching into corners when mixing in measuring cups, but also help incorporate air into thinner batters.
Spiral: Also known as a “coil,” "spring," or “galaxy” whisk, these are great for mixing small batches, like when blending in a cup; the flexible springs are also handy for breaking up dry ingredients in a batter or sauce.
Bread: Also known as a “Danish dough hook” — or in Danish, a “brodpisker” — these really have one job: to efficiently (and cleanly) mix and aerate thick bread doughs.
Double Balloon: A less commonly used design, these are uber-efficient at aeration, making them great for whipping egg whites or making whipped cream.
Tornado: Somewhere between a balloon and a ball whisk, this special shape is used to sweep and pick up solids on the bottom of pots that might otherwise burn.
A quality balloon shape is almost guaranteed to handle the majority of everyday cooking tasks. But we made sure to analyze and note the nuanced differences between these models to help you find the perfect one.
Credit: Aaron Rice
There is a reason the balloon whisk is the most popular design on the market. From whipping and aerating to combining dry ingredients and smoothing out batters, this classic shape is capable of most duties. Versatility is only improved when you have the right sized tool for the job, so we love the range of sizes that come with the Amazon Basics 3-Piece Wire Set. However, if you can only purchase one, our top choices are the OXO Good Grips 11" Better Balloon or the Kuhn Rikon 10" French Wire, thanks to their sheer capability in a variety of functions. We also appreciate the fact that the inner ball of the Mrs. Anderson's 12" Double Balloon is removable, allowing it to easily transform into a standard balloon whisk when additional aeration isn't necessary.
For bakers, a whisk allows you to quickly and effectively combine large bowls of dry ingredients, like bread flours.
Credit: Aaron Rice
Design
Unlike versatility, we also want to know how well each whisk performs its intended task. How well does a French whip reach into corners of a bowl? Does this flat whisk easily break up and incorporate flour into stock to build a roux? Shape and maneuverability certainly play a factor, as does the type of material. While our lead reviewer prefers the rebound of stainless steel wires, if you cook in non-stick coated pans, you should consider silicone models to prevent scratching and flaking.
There are major differences between the mixing capabilities of the OXO Good Grips Better Balloon (left), and the Ouddy Silicone Balloon (right), namely due to the different number of tines.
Credit: Aaron Rice
No surprise, the two highest-scoring products in our review, the Amazon Basics Set and the OXO Better Balloon score highly in terms of design — in fact, they are directly comparable to one another, with only a few minor differences. If we had to choose one specialty option to accompany the ubiquitous balloon whip, it would be the OXO Good Grips Flat Wire. A good flat whisk is your key to making a quality roux, which serves as the basis for all of the grand sauces, with the exception of Hollandaise and tomato sauce. We don't suggest using something with stainless steel wires for those cooking with non-stick pans, so if you're in that boat, we suggest the OXO Good Grips 9" Better Silicone as an option that won't scratch off the coating on your favorite nonstick pan.
Even though flat whisks are fundamental to making a roux, they do not excel at whipping eggs. It took us a few moments of pushing it around in the bowl before the tines even broke the yolk.
Credit: Aaron Rice
Silicone or Stainless Steel?
Many of the most popular whisks on the market are offered with either stainless steel or silicone tines. So which is better for you?
Silicone
Pros: These will not scratch a non-stick pan or tin-lined copper pot; quiet; delicate enough for smooth batters; easy to clean.
Cons: Softer, more flexible tines don't handle heavy batters well; similarly, they don't offer the same rebound as stainless steel and don't aerate or break up ingredients as efficiently.
Stainless Steel
Pros: Stiff, responsive tines aerate, emulsify, scrape, and break up ingredients well; capable of handling heavier batters; durable, rust-proof. Cons: Noisy; will easily scrape non-stick and other lined pans.
This category of utensils is full of various sizes and shapes, even within the same basic style. From the top: Winco 14" Balloon; OXO Good Grips 9" Silicone Balloon; zYoung Set of 2.
Credit: Aaron Rice
Ease of Use
As is the case with practically all kitchen tools we test, we likely won't reach for it very often if it is not easy to use. One of the biggest considerations with regard to this metric is ergonomics and weight. For anyone who has ever hand-whipped a bowl of whipped cream or the base of a meringue, you understand the surprising strength and endurance it takes to aerate cream or egg whites properly. The size and shape — and the number and stiffness of wires — greatly influences efficiency, and the handle's length, weight, and balance affect comfort.
Even though they sport the same basic grip design, there is a pretty major difference in terms of comfort between the Better Silicone (left) and Better Balloon (right) from OXO Good Grips.
Credit: Aaron Rice
Even though we love the precision and maneuverability of the Kuhn Rikon French Wire, it is the heaviest we tested and is likely to wear out all but the strongest wrists. With that said, it should be no surprise that we favor the lightweight ergonomics of the Amazon Basics whisks and any of those produced by OXO Good Grips. Although it should be noted that, among the OXO options, the grips of the Better Silicone and the Flat Wire are significantly smaller than that of the Better Balloon and are not quite as comfortable to handle.
The Kuhn Rikon French Wire is so heavy that it will tip over a small bowl if you're not careful.
Credit: Aaron Rice
Cleaning
Due to the design and the fact that they are often used to mix sticky batters, whisks are notoriously annoying to hand wash. To judge this metric, we took into account both the type of material, as well as the number and flexibility of the tines.
Fortunately, all of the products we tested are dishwasher-safe. But for those without the luxury of a dishwasher, silicone models like the OXO Good Grips Better Silicone or the Ouddy Silicone Balloon Set certainly ease the cleaning process.
Praise to the dishwasher for ease of cleaning. But if you're stuck handwashing one of these utensils, then the less number of tines the better... although its necessary to understand how that benefit will negatively affect performance.
Credit: Aaron Rice
Conclusion
After testing a series of some of the most popular products on the market, our comprehensive review helps break down the nuanced differences between each of these models. From common balloon whisks to classic French whips, we identified strengths and weaknesses so that you can best decide which one is right for your own kitchen. Whether you'll use it for daily baking or only occasionally to make fresh whipped cream, a quality whisk is an essential tool for every kitchen.
We hope our guide helps you find a top-quality whisk quickly, so that you can get back to cooking!
