Why it works: Sugar and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes. Both carry beta-damascenone, which smells apple, rose. The science ↓
Omelette Soufflee
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C) and place a pudding dish inside to heat.
In a bowl, separate the egg whites and yolks.
Make the mixture
Beat the yolks until creamy and pale yellow, then mix in the sifted sugar and vanilla until smooth.
Add a pinch of salt to the egg whites and whip them to stiff peaks.
Gently fold the yolk mixture into the egg whites, stirring minimally from the bottom up.
Bake and serve
Butter the heated pudding dish and fill it halfway with the mixture.
Dredge the top with powdered sugar and bake in the hot oven for about 6 minutes.
Serve immediately for best results.
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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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Vanilla + buttertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,050 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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
- Whipped whites trap air for lift, while yolks add richness and a creamy, custard-like body.
- Powdered sugar
- Sweetens the soufflé and dissolves smoothly into the yolks, giving a fine, even texture.
The step that matters
Folding the yolk mixture into the whites. Folding gently keeps the air bubbles in the whipped whites intact. Overmixing deflates the foam, so the soufflé will rise less and turn dense.
“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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