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Ham Souffle

A baked ham soufflé made with flour, butter, eggs, cream, ham, and breadcrumbs.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓

Ham Souffle

Oven, in the book's wordsA moderate oven

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

  1. In a saucepan, combine flour, 1 oz. of butter, cochineal, cayenne, salt, and egg yolks.

  2. Gradually mix in the cream until smooth.

  3. Stir over medium heat with a wooden spoon until it boils.

Assemble

  1. Add the ham or tongue and the whipped egg whites, mixing lightly.

  2. Pour the mixture into a souffle dish.

  3. Sprinkle the top with breadcrumbs and the remaining 1 oz. of butter cut into small pieces.

Bake

  1. Bake for 30 minutes at 350°F (175°C).

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Butter + creamtop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together41,516 recipes

    Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

  2. Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together124,287 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  3. Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together106,462 recipes

    Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

  4. Butter + hamtop 16% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together5,475 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-decenal (waxy, orange).

  5. Egg + hamtop 17% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together4,526 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).

Flour and butter 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

Eggs
Whipped whites trap air that expands in the oven, giving the soufflé its lift and airy texture.
Flour
Thickens the butter and cream into a stable base that holds the risen structure.
Cream
Adds moisture and richness, keeping the base smooth and tender.
Butter
Enriches the base and adds flavour and a soft, tender crumb.
Ham or tongue
Provides the main savoury flavour and texture throughout the soufflé.

The step that matters

Folding in the whipped egg whites. The air bubbles in the whites are what make the soufflé rise. Mixing too vigorously knocks that air out, so the whites should be folded in lightly and quickly once the base has cooled slightly.

“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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