Why it works: Butter and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 20,050 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓
Souffles
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slack oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Pass the mixture through a sieve.
In a saucepan, combine the mixture with butter and chopped vanilla; stir over low heat until thickened.
Let it reduce until consistent, then remove from heat and take out the vanilla.
Allow to cool slightly, then mix in the egg yolks and a small piece of butter.
Gently fold in the whipped egg whites.
Fill eight buttered paper cases with the mixture.
Place the cases on a baking sheet and bake in a 300°F (150°C) oven for 18 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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Butter + vanillatop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,050 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Egg + vanillatop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together27,347 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Egg and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 27,347 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
Swap the vanilla
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, butter):
- Lemonfits about as well
- Vanillathe original
- Coconutfits about as well
- Raspberryfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, butter. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
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