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 ↓
Vanilla Souffle
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 mold
Butter a souffle mold and tie a band of buttered paper around the top.
Make the base
Melt the butter in a saucepan, mix in the flour, then add the milk and stir until it boils and forms a thick paste.
Remove from heat and let cool slightly, then add the sugar, vanilla, and egg yolks, mixing well.
Fold and cook
Whip the egg whites to stiff peaks and gently fold them into the mixture.
Pour the mixture into the souffle mold, cover with buttered paper, and steam slowly for about 30 minutes.
Alternatively, bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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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 + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + vanillatop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,241 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
- Egg whites
- Whipped to stiff peaks, they trap air that makes the souffle rise and become light.
- Egg yolks
- Enrich the base and add richness and set structure as they cook.
- Flour
- Thickens the butter and milk into a paste that supports the risen souffle.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base that the flour thickens into a smooth paste.
- Butter
- Adds fat and flavor to the base and enriches the thickened paste.
The step that matters
Fold the egg whites gently. Whipped egg whites hold the air that lifts the souffle. Stirring or deflating them during folding loses that air, so the souffle rises less and turns dense.
Swap the vanilla
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, flour, milk, sugar, egg):
- Vanillathe original
- Raisinfits about as well
- Figfits less well
- Coconutfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against butter, flour, milk, sugar, 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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