Why fold in ingredients, why not just whisk?
Many recipes such as those for soufflé, call for folding in ingredients into whipped egg whites, so that you don't knock the air out.
But why not just whisk the ingredients in? That way there's no chance of you knocking the air out.
Best Answer
Folding is almost always done when you have one ingredient like whipped cream, egg whites, meringue, or similar which has had a lot of air whipped into it, and you are incorporating that with another ingredient.
The folding motion is meant to disturb the whipped ingredient is little as possible, in order to retain the whipped in air, and thus the volume of the mixture. If you simply whisk, or beat, the air would be beaten out.
Whipping the egg whites or whipped cream alone forms a foam with nothing but the air and the fat in whipped cream, or the protein network in egg whites. It us unstable much like the bubbles we used to blow as children.
If you add another ingredient, like flour, it can act as an abrasive, popping the little bubbles and deflating the foam. Ingredients which can dissolve fully, and so won't be abrasive to the buddies, can still dissolve into the foam walls, and change their chemistry to the point where they don't hold air any more, again collapsing them. So even though the motion still might be called whisking or whipping, the result is not the same.
There are only a few ingredients, such as sugar for whipped cream or egg whites, that can dissolve into the foam walls and not disrupt it, and these ingredients are best incorporated in the original whipping phase where the air is incorporated.
Even with folding, there is some volume loss; the goal is to minimize it.
Pictures about "Why fold in ingredients, why not just whisk?"
Quick Answer about "Why fold in ingredients, why not just whisk?"
The folding motion is meant to disturb the whipped ingredient is little as possible, in order to retain the whipped in air, and thus the volume of the mixture. If you simply whisk, or beat, the air would be beaten out.Can you fold ingredients with a whisk?
A wire whisk works better because it combines ingredients a lot faster without deflating them. Mix about a third of the whipped cream or egg whites into the other ingredients to lighten them. Then use the whisk to gently fold the rest of the whites or cream in as usual.Why do you fold in an ingredient?
Why Fold? Usually, egg whites or whipped cream are folded into a heavier mixture\u2013like a souffl\xe9, cake, or pie filling\u2013to help the mixture rise. The lighter mixture is placed on top of the heavier mixture, then the two are combined by passing a spatula down through the mixture, across the bottom, and up over the top.What is the difference between folding and whisking?
In terms of delivering information to someone, "folding" could be thought of as "breaking the news gently," while mixing would be closer to "blurting it out."Can I whisk instead of folding?
Skip the deflating rubber spatula and use this instead. Just like having a pan ripping-hot is the key to a perfectly seared steak, the way you whip eggs (even if it's just the whites) into batter is crucial to the final texture of a cake.FOLDING TECHNIQUE for Cakes » tips \u0026 tricks
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Angela Roma, Angela Roma, Angela Roma, Angela Roma