Why it works: Milk and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Apple Souffle
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the rice case
Boil the milk, rice, and lemon peel until the milk is flavored and the rice is tender, then blend into a smooth paste.
Butter a souffle dish or cake tin and line it with the rice, then set it in the oven.
Make the apple filling
Beat the yolks of the eggs, then heat the apples, butter, and lemon juice in a pan.
Stir in the egg yolks and enough sugar to sweeten, cooking until thick.
Bake and serve
Turn out the rice mold, beat the egg whites until frothy, and fold them into the apple mixture.
Pour the mixture over the rice and bake in a moderate oven (350°F / 175°C) for about 15 minutes.
Serve immediately when the souffle rises high, as it will fall if delayed.
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 + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Rice + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,374 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Apple + milktop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,104 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).
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Condensed milk + sugartop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together804 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Lemon + ricetop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,366 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Yolks enrich and thicken the filling, while whipped whites trap air so the soufflé rises.
- Rice
- Forms a cooked, smooth base that supports the soufflé as it bakes.
- Apples
- Provide moisture, body, and fruity flavor to the filling.
- Milk
- Carries the lemon flavor into the rice base and adds softness and richness.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the apple filling and balances the lemon's acidity.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and smooth texture in the filling and dish.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg whites and serving immediately. Whipped whites hold the air that lifts the soufflé. Folding gently keeps that air in, and the soufflé deflates as it cools, so it should be served right away.
Swap the apple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (lemon, egg, rice, milk, condensed milk, butter, sugar):
- Vanillafits better
- Coconutfits better
- Mangofits better
- Applethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against lemon, egg, rice, milk, condensed milk, butter, sugar. 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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