Why it works: Whiting and cream work together. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 135 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
Fish Souffle
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the fish
Rub the filleted whiting through a fine sieve using a wooden spoon.
Make the mixture
In a bowl, combine the puree with breadcrumbs, cream, pepper, salt, and the beaten egg.
Pour the mixture into a small, well-buttered basin, leaving room for it to rise.
Steam and serve
Steam for 20 minutes in a covered pot.
Serve with a small piece of butter.
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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Whiting + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together135 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Cream + peppertop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together21,449 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Cream + eggtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Whiting + peppertop 30% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together374 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Pepper + eggtop 33% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together50,580 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Cream and pepper barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 21,449 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
- Whiting
- Provides the main body of the soufflé as a smooth, fish-based purée.
- Egg
- Binds the mixture and helps it set and rise during steaming.
- Breadcrumbs
- Absorb moisture and give the soufflé a light, tender structure.
- Cream
- Adds moisture and richness, keeping the texture soft and delicate.
The step that matters
Leaving room in the basin. A soufflé mixture expands as it steams, so filling the basin too full can cause it to overflow or become dense. Leaving space lets the egg-set structure rise evenly.
“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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