Why it works: Lemon and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 53,532 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Omelette Soufflee
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Beat the yolks with the sugar and lemon rind until very light.
Whisk the egg whites to stiff peaks and gently fold them into the yolk mixture.
Bake and serve
Butter a round dish lightly and pour in the mixture, smoothing it with a knife.
Make a 1‑inch deep incision around the edge with a spoon handle.
Bake for 10 minutes and serve immediately.
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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Lemon + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Egg + lemontop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together44,316 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Lemon and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 53,532 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
- Whisked to stiff peaks, they trap air and give the soufflé its light, risen structure.
- Egg yolks
- Beaten with sugar, they add richness and flavour to the base and help set the custard.
- Sugar
- Beaten with the yolks, it sweetens the mixture and helps it become light and smooth.
- Lemon rind
- Grated into the yolks, it adds aroma and a bright citrus flavour.
The step that matters
Folding the egg whites into the yolk mixture. Whites are folded gently so the air bubbles stay intact. Overmixing deflates the foam, and the soufflé will rise less and turn dense.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, sugar):
- Vanillafits better
- Raisinfits about as well
- Lemonthe original
- Datesfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, sugar. 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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