Why it works: Apple and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,501 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Apple Souffles
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the apples
Pare and core the apples, then stew them until soft.
Mash the apples until smooth while they are still hot.
Make the base
Cream the butter and sugar together in a bowl.
Add the egg yolks to the creamed mixture and mix well.
Combine the creamed mixture with the mashed apples.
Flavor with vanilla or rosewater.
Fold and bake
In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the apple mixture.
Butter a deep baking dish and pour in the mixture.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) until set, with more heat at the top.
Serve hot.
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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Apple + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,501 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Butter + vanillatop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,050 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Apple + buttertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,706 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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 to stiff peaks and folded in, they lift the mixture and give the soufflé its airy structure.
- Egg yolks
- Enrich the base and help it set into a custard-like texture when baked.
- Apples
- Provide the main bulk and moisture, forming the fruity base of the soufflé.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat, softening the batter and carrying flavor.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the base and helps creamed butter hold air before the eggs are added.
The step that matters
Gently fold the beaten egg whites into the apple mixture. Folding gently keeps the air bubbles in the beaten whites intact. Stirring vigorously deflates them, and the soufflé then rises less and bakes up dense.
Swap the apple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, sugar, egg, vanilla):
- Figfits better
- Peachfits better
- Coconutfits better
- Applethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, sugar, egg, vanilla. 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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