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designing a whisk

post #1 of 3
3/15/12 at 6:17am
Thread Starter 

Hello all!

 

I am a product design student from Brunel University (uk). the current brief specifies the generation of an innovative kitchen product.

During research, i have seen that many kinds of whisks are available for a range of different applications. I see flat whisks are good for sauces and dressings and baloon, piano and french whisks are better for whipping and general all purpose tasks. I read some blogs about whisks from certain chefs and it seems even amamtuer chefs see it neccesary to own at least 2 or three different whisks.

Hence my project aims to combine functionality of these different whisks into a single product. I feel this would be a useful product as it saves time and also storage. The storage aspect is something i hope to develop in the project, possibly by storing the whisk wires in the handle, i will also keep ease of hand washing in mind as the project progresses.

What i would like from you guys is a bit of feedback, am i correct in assuming this would be a useful thing for chefs to have?? I know from personal experience that whisks can easily jam a draw closed, but is there a need in having functionality of whisks combined into one unit. Assuming my final product (at least) matches performance of each individual whisk, does this concept present hinderances in other areas?

 

Any ideas whtsoever are appreciated.....for example, what are your most frustrating whisking tasks? are there any mixtures that do not respond well to whisks??

Anyway i know its a long post so your time is greatly appreciated,
 

Colin Webb.

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post #2 of 3
3/15/12 at 7:53am

It's not easy to tell if you understand the various functions of various whisks.  From your descriptions it appears you don't quite. 

 

All whisks combine. 

 

Flat whisks are designed to work well in straight sided bowls.  It's usually not that important for a cook to thoroughly out the intersection between side and bottom -- but there it is.

 

Pear shaped whisks are the "every day" whisks.  Thinner tines introduce more air and typically do a more thorough job of combining. 

 

French whisks are thick tine pear whisks.  Compared to the thinner tine pears, they're stronger and work to break down recalcitrant lumps and hold up against thick sauces and mixtures.  Because they don't introduce as much air they make for a smoother mix.  The whisk I most often grab for general purpose cooking is my French whisk.  What it gives up in delicacy it makes up in power.

 

Balloon whisks are for beating air in, more than mixing or breaking down.  They're often used to make whipped cream, to beat eggs to the ribbon stage, or to beat egg whites into meringue.  While I do use whisks for those things in small quantities, an electric mixer with an appropriate whisk does them almost as well, significantly faster, and with far less effort.  For me the choice of electric or hand is determined by whether or not the quantities involved make the cleaning up an electric mixer worthwhile.  

 

However, an ordinary (hand operated) whisk is significantly better for almost everything else, and a great deal more convenient on the stove top.

 

Handle comfort is extremely important for whisks which will be used for more than "a few quick strokes."  A skinny, wire-handle on a balloon or French whisk is a contradiction in function.

 

As you can see, different designs do different things better --  that's your challenge.

 

Hope this helps,

BDL

What were we talking about?
 
http://www.cookfoodgood.com
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post #3 of 3
3/18/12 at 11:47am
Thread Starter 

yes very helpful indeed, upon further research i am now attempting to break down the generic scenario of whisking into defining parameter and show interactions with a diagram.

 

would you say the desired outcomes of whisking are fully described by these 2 results:

homogenous solution

 

aerated solution

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