Head Design Is Key
We were surprised by how much we enjoyed using the better models. All the whisks worked well, capably blending and beating the ingredients to a uniform consistency, but some did so a bit more quickly and efficiently than others. Head design was critical in this regard. We preferred whisks with slightly broader, more bulbous heads measuring about 4.75 to 5 inches in circumference, as they were big enough to cover more ground more quickly but still small enough to reach into the edges of a measuring cup or small bowl. Broader heads also helped beat egg yolks into egg whites and emulsify vinaigrettes a tad faster than whisks with narrower heads; the broader the head, the more of its wire loops came into contact with the food, moving and incorporating more of the ingredients with each stroke. For similar reasons, the more wire loops the whisks had, the better and faster they generally were at integrating the ingredients. A whisk with just three loops seemed to glide through the food rather than mix it, especially when compared with those that had five, six, or even seven loops.
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