Why it works: Egg and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 17% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 118,967 recipes. Both carry decanal, which smells soap, orange peel. The science ↓
Sweet Omelet Souffle
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 mixture
Beat the yolks of the eggs and sugar together.
Whisk the egg whites until stiff and gently fold them into the yolk mixture.
Cook
Melt the butter in a pan, then pour in the egg mixture.
Cook until set underneath, then place in a 400°F (200°C) oven or hold in front of the fire until set on top.
Fill and serve
Turn onto a hot dish, add warm jam to one half, and fold the other half over.
Dust with sugar before serving.
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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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Egg + sugartop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Whisked whites trap air to lift the soufflé, while the yolks enrich and set the custard.
- Butter
- Fat that greases the pan and gives the base a rich flavour and tender texture.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the omelette and helps the yolks stay smooth when beaten.
- Warm jam
- Adds sweetness, fruit flavour and moisture to the filling inside the folded omelette.
The step that matters
Folding in the whites. Whites must be whisked until stiff but folded gently, so the air bubbles stay intact. Overmixing deflates the foam, leaving a flat, dense omelette instead of a light soufflé.
“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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