Why it works: Butter and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Omelet 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
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
In a bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar until creamy.
Add a few drops of vanilla to the mixture.
In another bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Gently fold the egg whites into the yolk mixture.
Assemble and bake
Butter a baking dish and spread a layer of marmalade on the bottom.
Pour the egg mixture over the marmalade and smooth the top.
Sprinkle sugar on top and bake until browned.
Serve
Serve immediately with cream, or it will fall.
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 + creamtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
-
Vanilla + buttertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together20,050 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Vanilla + creamtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together12,301 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).
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
- Egg whites
- Whipped to stiff peaks, they trap air that lifts the soufflé as it bakes.
- Egg yolks
- Enrich the base with fat and richness, giving the soufflé a custardy body.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the base and helps the egg foam stay stable and browns the top.
- Marmalade
- Adds sweetness and a bright, fruity flavor beneath the soufflé.
The step that matters
Fold the egg whites gently. Stirring or deflating the whipped whites releases the trapped air that makes the soufflé rise, so the mixture must be folded carefully to keep it 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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