Mixing bowls

[stef_foodie]

for hand-mixing, i LOVE stainless steel bowls, though i'll use my glass ones in a pinch. i'd love to use pottery bowls but i've kinked too many of them doing stuff that i only use them now for serveware. i HATE plastic. BUT, having said that, my DLX mixer whips awesome egg whites *just like that* -- in a plastic bowl.

[Marlene]

I have two sets of the melamine mixing bowls and I use those the most often. I also have a set of the pyrex nesting bowls, though mine are light brown, and they are about 20 years old.

I'd like a set of stainless mixing bowls as well, particularly a really big one for mixing potato salad etc in.

[Chris Amirault]

Vaguely recollected anecdote: in response to a question about the home-cook problem that she most often saw and that could be most easily solved, Julia said that you can learn a lot about a cook's skills (or lack thereof) by what size bowl is chosen for a given task. She talked about batter flying out of bowls that were too small and single egg whites puddling at the bottom of cavernous bowls that weren't gonna make it to lumps much less peaks.

Of course, as an owner of several dozen bowls who happens also to be utterly impartial concerning this issue, I definitely think that she was 100% correct.

[Smithy]

Chris, whenever I need justification for another kitchen tool, I'll think of you and look no farther.

[Malawry]

I don't own any plastic or melamine bowls. I feel they're hard to keep clean. I own a set of nesting glass bowls from Williams-Sonoma--they're great in that I have every size I need, but I don't like that they have a ridge on the inside near the top where the rim is attached. IMO, bowls should have completely smooth seamless interiors to keep them easily clean. I use them anyway, along with a set of stainless professional cheap foodservice metal bowls. The metals are great, I even bake Jaymes' caramel popcorn in them or put them over direct heat for hollandaise and whatnot. I just don't like working with acidic foods in them, and I wouldn't put them on the table (I do put the glass ones out for family eating).

[Jonathan Day]

The French draw a distinction between a flat-bottomed bowl and a round-bottomed bowl (click for examples); the latter is usually called cul de poule, or chicken's arse. There are special cul de poule stands to stabilise your cul de poule bowl on the counter.

Flat-bottomed bowls are sometimes called saladiers; the example above is called a bassine pâtissière, pastry-cook's bowl.

(I have found the site that these examples come from, by the way, reliable. Its products seem fairly priced and of generally high quality. It's called Meilleur du Chef.)

Julia Child made a lot of fuss about how you had to beat eggs and eggwhites in a round-bottomed bowl, because, in a flat-bottomed one, mixtures wouldn't move around and therefore ingredients wouldn't combine. She did experiments introducing food colouring into a mass of eggwhites being beaten (by machine) in a flat-bottomed bowl, demonstrating that the colour didn't properly mix into the whites.

[doronin]

I've got a set of good stainless bowls of 4 or 5 sizes - for general use, and a couple of glass bowls for special cases - some foods don't like steel. I favor steel more 'cause of storage and handling convenience - they're light, dishwasher safe, take no room in the storage by stacking inside of each other, and impossible to break.

[markk]

A friend needs to know where she can buy "an immense 16 quart glass or ceramic mixing bowl, for bread dough", and I'm hoping my fellow gulleteers will know where she can by such an item.

Thanks!

[Dave the Cook]

For something that size, she might have to go to stainless steel.

[Terrasanct]

I've never seen such a thing, myself. Seems it would be heavy, not to mention breakable. Did she say why she wanted glass in particular?

Also, that's a HUGE amount of bread dough. I can't imagine why you'd need such a large bowl.

[joiei]

16 quarts, that is 4 gallons, that is pretty big. Almost a 5 gallon plastic bucket. What are they making? Are they a commercial bakery? I have never seen a glass bowl that large unless it is one of those very special things created by a glass artist and worth a ton of money.

[KarenDW]

here I am repeating things... but that sounds TOO heavy!

4 gal. bowls can probably be procured from a resto supply dealer. Here in BC, most of them have a "cash & carry" desk, and showroom. "regular" people can buy there, too.

Personally, I can't imagine trying to carry the bowl, full of anything.

On the other hand, as a base for some sort of awesome flower arrangement... WOW

[Beanie]

Is your friend looking for a bowl to actually mix the dough or for proofing? I agree with the others that glass or ceramic would be too heavy and prone to breakage. Large round or rectangular plastic tubs are available at restaurant supply shops. A friend of mine uses clear plastic rectangular tubs from Wal-mart to proof large quantities of bread dough. I've used them to mix and proof dough for breads that require minimal kneading (just folding, a la Dan Lepard's technique.)

[Toufas]

as the mixing bowls in sainsburys go for 6 pounds, and the large one on nisbets for 25...where can i get some mixing bowls for cheap? i am talking about 2-3 big enough to hold marinades for meats, make some mayo etc.

[Nargi]

as the mixing bowls in sainsburys go for 6 pounds, and the large one on nisbets for 25...where can i get some mixing bowls for cheap? i am talking about 2-3 big enough to hold marinades for meats, make some mayo etc.

←

do you have wal-mart in the UK? i'm not sure how far their evil extends.

[edwardsboi]

Anybody have any experience with the Oxo mixing bowls?

I also have a set of three very heavy gauge stainless mixing bowls. I agree that most stainless bowls sold to consumers are flimsy, but there are heavier, thicker, better ones available at the upscale retailers and professional suppliers. Mine are from Williams-Sonoma.

But, you should be able to find heavy gauge stainless steel mixing bowl at restaurant supply store, right?

And, how do you tell if they're heavy gauge or not? What hallmarks differentiate a quality stainless mixing bowl and a non-quality one? I want to be able to use it to make creamy, scrambled eggs, double-boiler style.

[Richard Kilgore]

If you compare ss bowls at, say, Wal-Mart and heavier ones at restaurant supply house it will be easy to tell the difference between heavy gauge and not. I got mine several years ago, made by Vollrath, from Ace Restaurant Supply: click here to see the Ace offerings, which include light weight, cheaper ones, and those made by Vollrath.

As far as using a ss bowl as a double boiler for making scrambled eggs, I doubt it makes any difference if you use the cheapest, thinest bowl.

[thock]

It's not the right season for it, now, but I got a couple of sets of really nice, heavy stainless bowls, Ecko Eterna, and some other kind, at yard sales. The Ecko Eterna are wider than they are tall, and the other ones are about the same height as their diameters. I think I'll have these for the rest of my life, and maybe beyond. I also have a couple of Pyrex bowls and an Anchor Hocking, and the bowl to one of those old countertop mixers that's not a KitchenAid. I don't use those as much as the stainless, but that's mainly because they're in the back of the cabinet, whereas the stainless are in the front.

[LizD518]

I have a myriad of mixing bowls in my kitchen. I'm not a preofessional & I run my own cake business on the side of my FT job. I have a nesting set of Stainless w/lids that I love - great for storing icing too, a set of nesting Pyrex which I always forget that I have, a set of nesting pottery bolws that weigh a ton, but I've had them for at least 15 years & they're great for heavy bread doughs & such & I also have a nesting set of plastic bowls with rubber grips on the bottom & pour spouts. I am always reaching for the plastic ones. Always.

Are they these: http://www.surlatable.com/product/3-piece+blue+nesting+bowl+set.do?keyword=bowls&sortby=ourPicks by any chance?

I got the above set last Christmas with a gift certificate and I looooove them. Other than those I have a cheap set of plastic nesting bowls with lids that is ok, and I used to have some ss ones I liked, but I think I left them with an ex when I moved out a few years ago. I miss those bowls.

[Susie Q]

I've got two sets of the 3 Pyrex nesting bowls and bought the larger 4th bowl for each set. Love them. I also have a cheap set of 5 plastic mixing bowls that have held up over the years. They've got this great double lip on them.

[JTravel]

I love the look of these melamine bowls and I use them all the time. For shocking or putting over simmering water I use a very large Pyrex...also it's the popcorn bowl. I even gave up my old Tupperware measuring bowl with the handle for these....though it gave a lot of good service. The rubber grip on bottom is helpful.

[paulraphael]

We've talked more about materials than shapes. Seems like there are two basic styles: tall and narrow, low and wide.

I generally like the tall/narrow ones, which resemble electric mixer bowls. You can whisk more vigorously without food ending up on the walls, and they take up less counter space. But I've seen more of the low/wide ones in commercial kitchens.

Thoughts?

[Anna N]

We've talked more about materials than shapes. Seems like there are two basic styles: tall and narrow, low and wide.

I generally like the tall/narrow ones, which resemble electric mixer bowls. You can whisk more vigorously without food ending up on the walls, and they take up less counter space. But I've seen more of the low/wide ones in commercial kitchens.

Thoughts?

Depends. I like the low, wide style if I am trying to mix ingredients by hand - just seems easier to me to make sure the "bottom" gets properly incorporated. For beating by hand or machine then tall and narrow suits me better.

[Kerry Beal]

I've got both - in one drawer I've got nest of about 7 various sized metal mixer type bowls, and in another drawer a nest of about 10 of the lower, wider style.

The tall ones tend to get used when I'm straining stock, mixing up batches of batter or dough with fruit or for eating popcorn. The lower, wider ones are for dipping chocolate centers, whisking things or making a bainmarie over a pot - oh yeah and eating popcorn!

As much as melamine bowls have a nostalgic appeal - they don't do well in the dishwasher or microwave - so there is really only one in the cupboard, and it's an oval bowl shape and only gets used to hold the egg dip for making french toast. I'm sure another bowl would work fine - but that's how my mom did it and I've got the bowl.

A lot of mixing gets done in an 8 cup pyrex measuring cup. It will go in the microwave for melting butter or chocolate so gets used to make brownies and blondies.

I've got a couple of those 'chicken's arse' bowls too - almost exclusively get used for a bainmarie.

Damn - I've got a lot of bowls in this joint!

[edwardsboi]

As far as using a ss bowl as a double boiler for making scrambled eggs, I doubt it makes any difference if you use the cheapest, thinest bowl.

Do you know if Oxo stainless steel bowls with that plastic exterior could work as a double boiler? I don't know why they have that plastic exterior on a stainless steel interior, but I'm concerned if the plastic would interfere if I tried to do that.