Should You Shuffle in Circles or Straight Lines?
Years ago, I saw – or at least I think I saw – an article claiming that stirring a saucepan of food in a straight, reciprocating motion was more effective than stirring in a circle. I can’t find the original article I saw or imagined, but at least one other person has also seen or imagined this particular piece of food writing.
Whether real or fictional, the article influenced my excitement. I usually stir in straight lines, moving back and forth across the skillet or pot, occasionally making circular motions around the sides so that nothing gets stuck at the edges.
But which method is really more efficient and does it make a big difference? Straight lines back and forth have always seemed more effective to me – you’re covering most of the pan, rather than pushing food around the perimeter – but I’ve never understood this super-scientific (because I was never interested in physics).
Fortunately, the staff at Cook’s Illustrated really care about my hated discipline. Shuffling from side to side is much more efficient, they say, with one notable exception (which we’ll talk about shortly). Method testers emulsified vinaigrette, whipped cream, and egg whites to quickly and efficiently determine which movement the ingredients were involved in:
In all cases, side-to-side mixing was very effective . He kept the vinaigrette (made simply from oil and vinegar) completely emulsified for 15 minutes and quickly whipped cream to hard peaks in 4 minutes and egg whites to hard peaks in 5 minutes. Circular mixing was ineffective in all cases. It never completely emulsified a dressing that remained thin and flaky, and whipping cream and egg whites took more than twice as long as whipping side to side (10 and 12 minutes, respectively).
There are two main reasons for this: moving your hand back and forth is easier than moving it in a circle, so you can stir for longer, but it also creates more shearing force:
As the whisk moves through the bowl in one direction, the liquid begins to move with it. But then the corolla moves in the opposite direction, exerting force on the rest of the liquid still moving towards it. Since the liquid moves in the same direction as the whisk while stirring and whipping, they create less shear.
It’s strength is also why squeezing vinaigrette ingredients in an airtight container creates a more stable emulsion than whipping, but the benefits of side-by-side stirring can be seen even in less dramatic applications like sauces, soups, and stews. (In addition, the back-and-forth motion keeps the spoon in contact with most of the pot or pan, preventing food from sticking and / or burning.)
The only food that does not enjoy the back and forth benefits is egg whites because of their unique viscosity:
Since the egg whites are very viscous, they will stick more to the teeth than the cream, even at the beginning of the whisk. This allows the finish to create wider channels that allow more air to enter. When moving from side to side, the reverse movement will disrupt some of the newly created channels, slowing down the process of air entrainment and expansion. As the whisk pulls the whisk out of the liquid for some of its action, these larger channels can stay open longer, trapping more air. In this case, the effect is more important than the shear force for quickly creating volume.
So beat the egg whites in a circular motion, but move side by side with everything else. Your dressings, sauces, and whipped dairy products work best for this.