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Eggs and Omelets

A light, airy dish made by folding beaten egg whites into a flavored batter and baking it.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
By Payne, A. G. (Arthur Gay), 1840-1894 · From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 12 ingredients
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Why it works: Cheese and parmesan cheese match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,041 recipes. Both carry ethyl 2-methylbutyrate, which smells fruity, apple. The science ↓

Eggs and Omelets

Ingredients

Directions

Make the batter

  1. Combine a quarter pint of milk with two tablespoonfuls of grated Parmesan cheese.

  2. Add this mixture to the beaten egg whites and mix carefully.

Bake

  1. Pour the mixture into a hot buttered tin (5–6 inches deep) and bake in the oven.

  2. When done, remove the souffle from the oven.

  3. Wrap hot flannel around the tin to keep heat (optional).

  4. Use a folded dinner napkin around the tin for appearance; fold it before making the souffle, make it large enough to drop over the tin, pin it, and ensure it is half an inch larger in diameter than the tin (optional).

Sweet version and serving

  1. Serve immediately; delay is fatal.

  2. Prepare batter as for cheese souffle but replace grated cheese with two tablespoonfuls of powdered sugar.

  3. Add flavouring (vanilla, orange‑flower water, or lemon).

  4. For lemon flavour, rub sugar on a lemon, pound with powdered sugar, mix thoroughly.

  5. Bake as before.

  6. Shake powdered sugar over the top before serving.

  7. Mix six ounces powdered sugar with six yolks, a dessert spoonful of flour, a pinch of salt, and flavouring (e.g., vanilla) until smooth.

  8. Beat six whites to stiff froth and fold lightly into batter.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

625Calories
32 gProtein
42 gFat
31 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 9 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Cheese1 oz (28g) cheddar113
Parmesan Cheese1 oz (28g)110
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Vanilla1 tsp extract (4ml)12
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

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

By Payne, A. G. (Arthur Gay), 1840-1894. Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures. See the original page.

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. Cheese + parmesan cheesetop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,041 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).

  2. Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,187 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  3. Butter + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

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

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

  5. Cheese + buttertop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,962 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

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

Eggs
Whipped whites trap air that expands in the oven to lift the souffle; yolks add richness and structure.
Milk
Loosens the base and adds moisture that turns to steam, helping the souffle rise.
Powdered sugar
Sweetens the batter and dissolves smoothly into the yolks for a fine, even texture.
Parmesan cheese
Adds savoury flavour and body to the cheese version of the souffle.

The step that matters

Serve immediately. A souffle holds its height only while the trapped steam and set structure are at their peak. As it cools, the steam escapes and the rise collapses, so it should go to the table straight from the oven.

Swap the lemon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (cheese, sugar, butter, milk, parmesan cheese, vanilla, egg):

  1. Figfits better
  2. Bananafits better
  3. Strawberryfits better
  4. Lemonthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against cheese, sugar, butter, milk, parmesan cheese, vanilla, egg. 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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