Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓
Souffles
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the base
In a saucepan, combine milk, potato flour, powdered sugar, salt, and flavoring.
Stir and heat until it forms a smooth paste.
Whip and fold
In a bowl, separate the eggs; beat the whites until stiff.
Add the yolks to the paste after a few minutes, then gently fold in the beaten whites.
Bake
Pour the mixture into a souffle dish and bake at 400°F (200°C) for about 20 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 + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Milk + potatotop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,611 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
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Flour + vanillatop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,241 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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
- Eggs
- Beaten whites trap air to lift the soufflé, and the yolks enrich its set custard structure.
- Potato flour
- Thickens the milk into a smooth paste that supports the folded whites.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base that thickens with heat and gives the soufflé its body.
The step that matters
Gently fold in the beaten whites. Stirring or deflating the whites knocks out the air bubbles that make the soufflé rise, so the folding must stay light and quick.
Swap the potato
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, flour, sugar, vanilla, egg):
- Arrowrootfits better
- Sweet potatofits better
- Beetrootfits about as well
- Potatothe original
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, flour, sugar, vanilla, 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.
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