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 ↓
Souffle of Dried Haddock
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.
Make the base
Melt the butter in a saucepan.
Stir in the flour and add the milk, boiling the mixture well.
Assemble and bake
Stir in the egg yolks and chopped haddock, seasoning to taste.
Gently fold in the beaten egg whites until well combined.
Pour the mixture into oiled ramekins, topping with brown crumbs and a little butter.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) for about 15 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.
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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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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Butter + oystertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,184 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, green).
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Oyster + eggtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,103 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Milk + flourtop 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
- Egg whites
- Whipped to hold air, which lifts the mixture and gives the soufflé its light, risen texture.
- Egg yolks
- Enrich the base and help it set into a tender, custard-like crumb as it bakes.
- Dried haddock
- Provides the main fish flavour and savoury body of the soufflé.
- Flour
- Thickens the milk and butter into a stable base that supports the whipped whites.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base that the flour thickens into a smooth sauce.
The step that matters
Gently fold in the beaten egg whites. Folding gently keeps the air bubbles in the whipped whites intact. Stirring or beating them down deflates the mixture, so the soufflé rises less and bakes up dense.
“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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