Mixing
Mixing is air management. Whether you are adding air, keeping it, or knocking it out changes everything that bakes — these are the verbs, precisely.
Beat
Vigorous mixing to combine thoroughly and work in some air — eggs, looser batters. Brisk, but not the maximum-air job that whipping is.
Whisk
Using a wire whisk to incorporate air or to emulsify — dressings, eggs, lump-free sauces. The open shape is the tool’s whole advantage.
Whip
Beating hard to trap the maximum amount of air, building structure — cream to billows, egg whites to peaks.
Cream
Beating softened butter with sugar until pale and fluffy. The sugar crystals cut tiny air pockets into the fat — that trapped air is the lift in most butter cakes.
Stir
Gentle combining with no aeration intended — just bringing things together without building or losing structure.
Knead
Working dough by repeated stretch and fold to develop gluten — the elastic network that gives bread its chew and rise.
Soft peaks vs stiff peaks
The two whipping endpoints: soft peaks flop over gently when the whisk lifts; stiff peaks stand straight and hold. Most folding wants soft-to-medium.
Ribbon stage
Whipped eggs and sugar beaten until thick and pale enough to fall from the whisk in a ribbon that sits on the surface for a moment before sinking.
Emulsify
Forcing fat and water — which do not want to mix — to stay combined, usually with a bonding agent like egg yolk or mustard: vinaigrette, mayonnaise, hollandaise.
