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Omelette Souffle

A light, baked omelette made with beaten egg whites folded into yolk mixture.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
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Why it works: Sugar and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓

Omelette Souffle

Oven, in the book's wordsA very moderate oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a very moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare

  1. In a bowl, combine the egg yolks, powdered sugar, and vanilla extract. Beat vigorously for 5-6 minutes.

  2. In another bowl, beat the egg whites until very stiff.

Make the soufflé

  1. Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the yolk mixture, being careful to maintain the fluffiness.

  2. Transfer the mixture to a slightly buttered metal dish and smooth the top to form a dome.

Bake and serve

  1. Bake in a 350°F (175°C) oven for about 12 minutes or until set. Serve immediately.

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.

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

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

  2. Vanilla + buttertop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together20,050 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  3. Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together118,967 recipes

    Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).

  4. Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together98,233 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  5. Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together122,807 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

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

Egg whites
Beaten until stiff, they trap air and give the omelette its light, airy structure.
Egg yolks
Add richness and flavor, and their proteins help set the mixture as it bakes.
Powdered sugar
Sweetens the mixture and dissolves easily into the yolks for a smooth base.

The step that matters

Folding the egg whites into the yolk mixture. Folding gently keeps the air bubbles in the whipped whites intact. Stirring or deflating them makes the soufflé dense and flat instead of light and risen.

“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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