Why it works: Fish and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,432 recipes. Both carry 4-heptenal, which smells creamy, biscuit. The science ↓
Fish Souffle
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the mixture
Mix the Marmite with the hot liquid.
Pour it over the breadcrumbs and fish, then beat in the egg yolk.
Beat the egg white with a pinch of salt until stiff, then gently fold it into the mixture.
Steam and serve
Transfer the mixture to a buttered basin, filling it halfway, and cover with greased paper.
Steam slowly for 20 to 25 minutes.
Serve plain or with white sauce.
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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Fish + milktop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,432 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).
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Fish + whitingtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together317 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Fish + eggtop 22% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,782 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Whiting + milktop 29% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together123 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Egg
- The whites whipped to stiff peaks trap air, lifting the soufflé as it steams.
- White fish
- Provides the main body and flavour of the soufflé, set by the egg as it cooks.
- Breadcrumbs
- Absorb the liquid and give the mixture body so it holds together while it steams.
- Marmite
- Adds a savoury, salty depth of flavour to the mixture.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg white. Stiffly beaten whites hold the air that makes the soufflé rise. Folding gently, rather than stirring, keeps that air from collapsing, so the soufflé stays light.
“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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