Why it works: Milk and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Potato Souffle
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the base
Boil the potatoes until tender, then pass them through a sieve.
Scald the sweet milk and melt the butter in it.
Season the potato with salt and pepper, then mix in the milk and butter until creamy.
Add the egg yolks one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition.
Whip and fold
In a separate bowl, add a pinch of salt to the egg whites and beat until stiff peaks form.
Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the potato mixture just before baking.
Bake and serve
Pour the mixture into a well-buttered baking dish and bake for 20 minutes at 400°F (200°C).
Serve immediately in the baking dish, ideally with meats that have gravies.
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.
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.
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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Potato + peppertop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,305 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
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Potato + milktop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,611 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
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Potato + buttertop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,456 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Mealy potatoes
- Their starch and dry, fluffy texture give the souffle its light body.
- Egg yolks
- They add richness and help bind the potato base into a smooth, creamy mixture.
- Egg whites
- Whipped to stiff peaks, they trap air that lifts and structures the souffle as it bakes.
- Sweet milk
- Adds moisture and softness to the potato base, and carries the butter through it.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a smooth, silky mouthfeel in the base.
The step that matters
Folding the beaten egg whites into the potato mixture. Folding gently keeps the air bubbles in the whipped whites intact. Stirring or deflating them makes the souffle dense and stops it from rising well in the oven.
Swap the potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, butter, pepper, egg):
- Capsicumfits about as well
- Potatothe original
- Asparagusfits about as well
- Chivefits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, butter, pepper, 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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