Folding

Folding, as opposed to stirring, whisking, or mixing, is a controlled and gentle method of combining ingredients. Sometimes you want to keep a mixture light and airy, such as when adding ingredients to whipped egg whites or whipped cream, or you want to make sure you don’t over-mix a batter (for example, when adding liquids to dry ingredients for a cake or muffins), which can lead to a tough crumb. Folding is perfect for these situations because it allows you to com-bine ingredients while maintaining as much air and lightness as possible.