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 ↓
Baked Souffle of Eggs
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the components
Scald the milk with a tiny pinch of baking soda.
Beat the yolks of the eggs until light and creamy.
Beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Combine the batter
Stir the salt, pepper, and butter into the milk, then mix into the yolks.
Gently fold in the egg whites.
Bake and serve
Pour the mixture into a deep, buttered pudding dish.
Bake in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 10 minutes or until delicately browned.
Serve immediately in the baking dish.
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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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Pepper + buttertop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together85,593 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Milk + peppertop 22% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together26,984 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Whipped whites trap air for lift, while the yolks enrich and set the custard structure.
- Milk
- Provides the liquid base that gives the soufflé its moist, tender body.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a softer, more tender crumb.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites. Whites hold air only when whipped to stiff peaks. Stirring vigorously knocks that air out, so the soufflé rises less. Fold gently with a large spatula to keep the lift.
“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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