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Favorite Things: A little whisk

Maureen Abood

Apr 16, 2012, Updated Jan 10, 2023

It’s true, you can use a jar. You can use a fork. Or you can skip emulsification of a vinaigrette altogether and just pour it all directly on the salad, the way my mama does. But I love the swift job a small Best brand whisk does when it comes time to dress a salad.

You might have expected a link there so you could take a look and maybe even buy a Best little whisk for yourself. Now I know I’ve never been a math brain, but I can measure. My Best whisk is a 6-inch, which I have not been able to find anywhere online for you. I bought it in the store at Sur la Table a few years ago, and now they tell me it’s discontinued. They don’t sell anything smaller than an 8-inch. I did find another brand of 6-inch whisk for you right here, but I’m still miffed about Best. I can’t believe I’m the only cook who finds their little whisk to be a helping hand in the kitchen. Then again, we do tend to point the finger in every direction but home when it comes to crazy. Can you whisk up a vinaigrette with an 8-inch whisk? Yes. Is the 6-inch just that much more effective? I think so. And this is not just because I’m crazy or because I love miniatures.

Your whisk size works in coordination with the size of your bowl. Vinaigrettes take a small bowl, and therefore a small whisk, because even a big salad needs only a whisper of dressing on it.

I won’t say that a little whisk has a million uses—but the same goes for, say, a toothbrush. The task is daily, necessary, so regular it’s mindless. And we wouldn’t want anything but the best for the king of the table, our salata.