which whisk which whisk which whisk which whisk which whisk which whisk

February 20, 2015 6:39 AM

What is this magical measuring whisk, and what possible uses could it have beyond the extremely specific one we just saw?

It's pretty cool but it also seems like the kind of thing that wouldn't really be practical given that generally you don't whisk solid foods. What is it and what is it for?

posted by phunniemee to Food & Drink (12 answers total)

Best answer: It seems maybe not so much an actual whisk (which incorporates air), but more like a type of beater. So maybe it could be used with ingredients like cream cheese, peanut butter, soft butter, lard, greek yogurt, or other ingredients that usually make a mess and are hard to measure because they stick to measuring cups. So, I'd use it to make frosting with powdered sugar and cream cheese.
posted by Yellow Silver Maple at 6:52 AM on February 20, 2015

I noticed writing at the top of the handle at about 1'02". My katakana's a little rusty, but I think it says guramu (gram) - they're just specifying what scale the markings are in. Given that the unit is a weight, not a volume, it's a device for measuring (and whisking) pastes with a density equal to miso.
posted by zamboni at 6:53 AM on February 20, 2015 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I found this photo of the same gadget when I googled "miso paste tool."
posted by cabingirl at 6:53 AM on February 20, 2015

If you look closely at the video, you'll also see that it doesn't do the job very accurately. At about 1:08, you can clearly see a void in the paste the whisk picked-up.
posted by Thorzdad at 7:07 AM on February 20, 2015 [1 favorite]

Best answer: it doesn't do the job very accurately

Plus, of course, it will only work at all if you have a full (or nearly full) tub of paste.

So it looks like a very specific tool that only really works with one ingredient, and then only in the right circumstances. One more kitchen gadget that you'd probably use once a year, assuming you didn't forget you had it.
posted by pipeski at 7:12 AM on February 20, 2015

Best answer: I think if this thing makes those eggplant bacon dumplings (!! seriously, way to bury the lede!) then that's plenty of use and just tell me where to order one and does it come with the dumpling recipe? Maybe in a kit with that towel-steaming lid? Yes, it is definitely super useful and you should get one immediately, as should I.
posted by If only I had a penguin... at 7:16 AM on February 20, 2015 [8 favorites]

I'm sure you can keep using the tool, you just smush the remaining miso over so that it's tub-height.

I use a food scale for that kind of thing, though. Just tare it with a little plate or cupcake paper or little piece of parchment on the scale, dump and go.

Dumpling recipe:

Recipe (Makes 10)

■ Dough
1. Mix 200g cake flour, 2g (1/3 tsp) salt, 5g (1tsp) baking powder by hand.
2. Add 5g (1tsp) vegetable oil and 110ml warm water and stir with chopsticks
3. Knead until dough forms
4. Wrap in plastic and let sit for 20 minutes

■ Filling
5. Mix 25g miso, 3g (1/4 tbsp) salt, 1g dashi-no-moto (soup stock base), 3g (1/4 tbsp) vegetable oil.
6. Divide the dough into 10 equal parts (about 30g each)
7. Cut two large eggplants into disks with pockets to stuff the miso (see 2:00)
8. Stuff eggplant with miso
9. Wrap the stuffed eggplant with strip of pork belly, cut in half (120-130g total)
10. Roll out the dough and wrap around the pork belly/eggplant
11. Pour small amount of oil in pan and place the dumplings. Cook until golden brown on one side. (We will steam them next so don't worry if they aren't cooked all the way through)
12. Place the oyaki in a steam cooker and steam for 10 minutes.
13. Enjoy while thinking of the fertile farmland and towering mountains of Shinshu (Nagano).
14. Sing Shinano no Kuni (Our Shinano) after eating: http://nicoviewer.net/sm8283906
posted by Lyn Never at 8:00 AM on February 20, 2015 [7 favorites]

Japanese search term: みそ汁上手 kj-150
English search term: miso kj-150

on amazon.co.jp, about $5
on ebay, $30
on rakuten, about $11 or $14
posted by homodachi at 10:43 AM on February 20, 2015 [1 favorite]

Agreed, this really looks like a single-task-only kind of thing. Measuring dense but pliable solids is kind of an annoying process, and that tool looks like it would be very annoying to use with anything other than a full pot of your goop. That said, if this is something you find yourself needing, these are magical, and useful for liquids (especially honey; protip: give it a quick spray or wipe with veg oil first), granular things, and heavy pastes.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 11:35 AM on February 20, 2015

Best answer: Mesmerizing video.
posted by harrietthespy at 12:55 PM on February 20, 2015

I'm sure you can keep using the tool, you just smush the remaining miso over so that it's tub-height.

I'm kind of under the impression that you want to do this anyway. It reduces the surface area--generally, you don't want your miso in contact with too much fresh air, it oxidizes it or something--and it prevents the miso from weeping liquid (tamari, I guess) into the void.
posted by pullayup at 2:02 PM on February 20, 2015

It might be usable as an ice cream scoop.
posted by jacquilynne at 7:06 PM on February 22, 2015