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Cold Rhubarb Soufflé

A chilled rhubarb soufflé made with rhubarb, sugar, gelatin, cream, egg whites, vanilla, and topped with strawberries and whipped cream.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 8 ingredients
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Why it works: Rhubarb and vanilla match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 276 recipes. Both carry methyl cinnamate, which smells strawberry. The science ↓

Cold Rhubarb Soufflé

Timeat least six hours

Ingredients

Directions

Make the rhubarb base

  1. Cook the rhubarb with 1/4 cup water and 1 3/4 cup sugar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan for about 10 minutes until soft.

  2. Strain the cooked rhubarb and cook down the juice to 1/2 cup.

  3. Puree the rhubarb in a food mill or a blender, or put through a vegetable mill.

  4. Soften the gelatin in 2 tablespoons cold water.

  5. Add the softened gelatin to the hot rhubarb juice and stir until completely dissolved.

  6. Add the rhubarb puree.

Whip and fold

  1. Beat the cream until stiff.

  2. Beat the egg whites until they begin to stiffen.

  3. Add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and the vanilla to the egg whites, continuing to beat until stiff peaks form.

  4. Fold the egg white mixture into the rhubarb.

  5. Fold the whipped cream into the mixture.

Chill and serve

  1. Make a collar of wax paper and fit it around a 1 1/2 quart soufflé mold.

  2. Chill the soufflé for at least six hours.

  3. Remove the collar.

  4. Decorate the top with fresh strawberries and rosettes of whipped cream piped from a pastry tube.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

262Calories
14 gProtein
11 gFat
26 gCarbs

Counts 6 of 7 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 6 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Cream1 tbsp (15ml) heavy51
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Strawberry1 cup (152g)49
Gelatin1 envelope (7g)23
Vanilla1 tsp extract (4ml)12
Rhubarbnot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Rhubarb + vanillatop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together276 recipes

    Shared aroma: methyl cinnamate (strawberry).

  2. Gelatin + creamtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,628 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

  3. Sugar + gelatintop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,778 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  4. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  5. Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together43,450 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).

Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Rhubarb
Provides the tart flavor and the bulk of the soufflé's body once puréed.
Gelatin
Sets the mousse so it holds its shape when chilled.
Egg whites
Whipped to foam, they lighten the mixture and give it an airy texture.
Heavy cream
Whipped and folded in, it adds richness and a soft, creamy texture.
Sugar
Sweetens the tart rhubarb and helps stabilize the whipped egg whites.

The step that matters

Dissolving the gelatin in the hot juice. Gelatin must be fully dissolved in the hot juice before the puree is added; undissolved granules leave gritty specks and uneven setting in the chilled soufflé.

Swap the rhubarb

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, gelatin, cream, egg, vanilla):

  1. Cinnamonfits about as well
  2. Rhubarbthe original
  3. Nutmegfits about as well
  4. Peppermintfits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, gelatin, cream, egg, vanilla. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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