Why it works: Butter and milk 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 ↓
Cheese Souffle
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Make the base
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat.
Stir in the flour, salt, and paprika, cooking for 1 minute.
Gradually whisk in the milk until smooth and thickened.
Remove from heat and stir in the breakfast food and cheese.
Bake and serve
Fold in the beaten egg yolks, then gently fold in the beaten egg whites.
Pour the mixture into a pudding dish and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
Serve with white sauce.
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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Butter + cheesetop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,962 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Milk + cheesetop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,426 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Whites trapped in the batter expand in the oven and lift the soufflé, while yolks add richness.
- Butter
- Fat that combines with flour to form a roux, giving the base body and a rich flavour.
- Flour
- Thickens the milk into a smooth sauce that holds the cheese and supports the soufflé's structure.
- Milk
- Liquid that hydrates the flour and forms the thick white sauce base.
- Cheese
- Adds savoury flavour and fat, giving the soufflé its character.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites. Whites hold air only while they are beaten stiff. Folding gently keeps that air in the mixture; stirring or overmixing deflates it, so the soufflé rises less.
“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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