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Souffle of Fowls

A baked chicken souffle made with stewed chicken, egg yolks, cream, egg whites, and bread crumbs.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 5 ingredients
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Why it works: Egg and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 22,662 recipes. Both carry (e)-2-octenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓

Souffle of Fowls

Oven, in the book's wordsA brisk oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a brisk oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare

  1. Prepare a fricassee of two chickens stewed until half done.

  2. Mix the egg yolks and cream to create a liaison.

Assemble and bake

  1. Transfer the chicken mixture to a deep dish.

  2. Beat the egg whites until stiff and pour over the chicken.

  3. Sprinkle bread crumbs over the egg whites.

  4. Bake in a brisk oven at 400°F (200°C) for 30 minutes.

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. Egg + breadtop 13% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together22,662 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e)-2-octenal (fatty, green).

  2. Chicken + breadtop 14% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,258 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity).

  3. Chicken + creamtop 23% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together6,241 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).

  4. Egg + creamtop 24% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together42,166 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

  5. Cream + breadtop 24% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together5,789 recipes

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

Egg and cream barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 42,166 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
Beaten until stiff, they trap air and lift the soufflé as it bakes.
Egg yolks
Enrich the liaison with fat and emulsifiers, adding richness and a smooth, custard-like texture.
Cream
Adds moisture and fat, keeping the mixture tender and rich.
Chickens
Provide the main body of the dish, cooked partway before baking.
Bread crumbs
Form a light, golden crust on top as the soufflé bakes and browns.

The step that matters

Beating the egg whites until stiff. Egg whites must be whipped to firm peaks without overbeating, since they supply the air that makes the soufflé rise. Underwhipped whites produce a dense result, and overbeaten whites turn grainy and collapse.

“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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