Why it works: Wheat and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,418 recipes. Both carry (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal, which smells cucumber, melon. 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
Melt the butter in a saucepan.
Blend in the flour, mustard, salt, and paprika.
Gradually add the milk, stirring until the mixture thickens.
Stir in the shredded wheat biscuit crumbs and grated cheese.
Remove from heat and mix in the beaten egg yolks until well combined.
Fold and bake
Cool the mixture slightly, then gently fold in the beaten egg whites.
Pour into a buttered dish or individual molds.
Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 25 minutes.
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.
-
Wheat + milktop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,418 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
-
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Butter + cheesetop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,962 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Milk + cheesetop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,426 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Mustard + cheesetop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,805 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Whites trap air for lift, and yolks enrich the base and help it set.
- Butter
- Fat that enriches the base and carries flavor through the roux.
- Milk
- Liquid that, thickened with flour, forms the creamy body of the soufflé.
- Whole wheat flour
- Thickens the butter and milk into a sauce that supports the risen mixture.
- Grated cheese
- Adds savory flavor and richness to the base.
The step that matters
Gently fold in the beaten egg whites. Egg whites hold the air that makes a soufflé rise. Folding gently keeps that air in; stirring or deflating the mixture leaves a dense result.
Swap the mustard
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, wheat, flour, milk, cheese, egg):
- Potatofits better
- Asparagusfits better
- Chivefits better
- Mustardthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, wheat, flour, milk, cheese, 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.
More cheese soufflé recipes
You might also like
Cheese Balls97 recipes
Cheese Cake55 recipes
Wheat Muffins48 recipes
Cream Cheese46 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.