In baking, what's the difference between beating and mixing?

Question

I'm baking cookies....

THANK YOU EVERYONE!!

Answer 1

mixing is stirring it up until it is throughly blended. Beating is more like whipping it, a faster mix that beats all the ingredients together.


You will beat the eggs, butter and sugar together.. you want it to be a nice creamy fluffy consistency..
you will mix the flour in to it.. a steady stirring to get it well blended together.

Answer 2

Most cookie recipes call for the butter and sugar to be beaten together. Whether this is done by hand (which I've done) or by machine (which I've done), the object is to get the butter to coat every inch of the sugar and add air to the mixture. This is what, as it cooks, creates spaces between the flour for that light feel. Then by beating in the egg - that adds more air into the mix for a lighter cookie. The dry stuff is added last by mixing it in just until everything is wet and you don't see dry flour anywhere. If you were to keep mixing the dry stuff, it would become gooey with strands from the gluten in the flour and create a tough cookie (or cake).

I tested a cookie recipe one time (the old Toll House Chocolate Chip cookie recipe). First, I followed it by the instructions of beating together the butter and sugar, adding the eggs, then the liquid (1 tsp water and vanilla) and lastly the dry ingredients that had been sifted together - which makes sure the baking powder or baking soda isn't in clumps where you would taste it.

Then I made it again and instead of doing it in that order, I just dumped everything into the bowl at the same time and stirred it all together. It was much harder to do - trying to get the butter to cover all the sugar. And the mixture was much thicker and harder to stir. The cookie came out totally different than the first time. It was tougher, and even the flavor was different.

If you wanted to test it out, cut your cookie recipe in half and make half the normal way and the other half all dumped into the bowl. They will both taste good but not the same.

I have an old book (very old) that shows what the teachers used to teach children about cooking and the properties of chemicals in cooking (experiments). Too bad they don't do that today. Very interesting. It allows you to experiment more with recipes to see what happens when you change things. That's how so many of the new recipes you find are created - by people trying something different.

Answer 3

Beat Baking

Answer 4

Beting is usually done with an electric mixer and at a high speed. Usually it is to incorporate air into the ingredients while mixing the ingredients together and sort of emulsifying them.

Mixing on the other hand is just incorporating the ingredients well so that they become thoroughly incorporated. This can usually be done with a spoon or with your electric mixer on low, often using a paddle attachment rather than a whip.

Answer 5

Mixing is just like stirring, it is supposed to be done slowly to fold the ingredients together. Beating is done much more vigorously to add air into the batter. If you are baking cookies you want to mix not beat or you will get too much air in the batter and the texture will be wrong.

Answer 6

beating is using a mixer (I know it sounds like mixing should use a mixer lol) and mixing is usually with a spatula, but can be used with a mixer too. If it says "beat the eggs" you would use a whisk or a mixer. But as far as cookies go, it doesn't really matter what utensil you use to combine the ingredients.

Answer 7

1)Beating adds Air making product fluffy & lighter. usually done with a "Mixer" or Whisk
2)Mixing is to incorporate the ingredients without too much air. As a rule done with a Spoon or Spatula
Over mixing some things cause them to be tough.

Answer 8

I would suggest that whipping is a "fiercer" or more vigorous process than beating. I'd beat with perhaps a fork, like beating an egg. I'd whip using an electric whisk rather like whipping cream into stiff peaks. but hey, I'm just a reluctant cook.

Answer 9

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whipping is when you turn something into a froth or foam such as eggs into meringue. when you whip, it usually means mixing something fast until it becomes thick; it usually has a change in texture, color and volume.this usually takes about 15 minutes to 30 minutes.. beating is just to mix something together, like when you beat an egg, you don't make it bubbly and thick, you stop when it just combines. This is like mixing fast for about 30 seconds.

Answer 10

if something tells you to mix it Dont beat it! seriously. what ever you are making will then end up very flat. at least in baking. don't over mix.