Why it works: Apple and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,104 recipes. Both carry 4-heptenal, which smells creamy, biscuit. The science ↓
Apple, or Gooseberry Souffle
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the fruit
Scald the fruit and press it through a sieve.
Place the fruit in a tart dish.
Once cold, pour a rich custard (made with milk, sugar, and egg yolks) over the fruit, about 2 inches deep.
Top and bake
Whip the egg whites until stiff and lay them in rough pieces on top of the custard.
Sift sugar over the egg whites.
Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven for a short time until lightly browned.
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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Apple + milktop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,104 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).
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Apple + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together16,478 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Egg + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Apple and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 16,478 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
- Eggs
- Egg yolks enrich the custard, while whipped whites lighten the top and give the soufflé its airy structure.
- Milk
- Forms the base of the rich custard, adding moisture and a smooth, creamy texture.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the custard and the topping, and helps the whites brown lightly in the oven.
- Apples or gooseberries
- Provide the tart fruit base and moisture beneath the custard.
The step that matters
Whip the egg whites until stiff. Stiffly whipped whites trap air that expands in the oven and gives the topping its lift. Under-whipped whites collapse and make the topping dense, while the custard should be cold before it is added to the fruit so it does not start to set or weep.
Swap the apple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg, milk):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Raisinfits better
- Applethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, egg, milk. 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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