A soufflé is a baked egg dish originating in France in the early 18th century. Combined with various other ingredients, it can be served as a savoury main dish or sweetened as a dessert. The word ''soufflé'' is the

past participle In linguistics, a participle () (from Latin ' a "sharing, partaking") is a nonfinite verb form that has some of the characteristics and functions of both verbs and adjectives. More narrowly, ''participle'' has been defined as "a word derived from ...

of the French verb , which means to blow, breathe, inflate or puff.

History

The earliest mention of soufflé is attributed to the French master cook,

Vincent La Chapelle Vincent La Chapelle (1690 or 1703 – 14th of July 1745 in Apeldoorn) was a French master cook who is known to have worked for Phillip Dormer Stanhope ( 4th Earl of Chesterfield), William IV, Prince of Orange, John V of Portugal and Queen Marie ...

, in the early eighteenth century. The development and popularisation of the soufflé is usually traced to the French chef Marie-Antoine Carême in the early nineteenth century.

Ingredients and preparation

Soufflés are typically prepared from two basic components: # a flavored crème pâtissière, cream

sauce In cooking, a sauce is a liquid, cream, or semi-solid food, served on or used in preparing other foods. Most sauces are not normally consumed by themselves; they add flavor, moisture, and visual appeal to a dish. ''Sauce'' is a French word t ...

or béchamel, or a

purée A purée (or mash) is cooked food, usually vegetables, fruits or legumes, that has been ground, pressed, blended or sieved to the consistency of a creamy paste or liquid. Purées of specific foods are often known by specific names, e.g., apples ...

as the base # egg whites beaten to a soft peak The base provides the flavor, and the egg whites provide the "lift" or puffiness to the dish. Foods commonly used to flavor the base include

herbs In general use, herbs are a widely distributed and widespread group of plants, excluding vegetables and other plants consumed for macronutrients, with savory or aromatic properties that are used for flavoring and garnishing food, for medicinal ...

cheese Cheese is a dairy product produced in wide ranges of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, or sheep. During production, ...

and vegetables for savory soufflés; and

jam Jam is a type of fruit preserve. Jam or Jammed may also refer to: Other common meanings * A firearm malfunction * Block signals ** Radio jamming ** Radar jamming and deception ** Mobile phone jammer ** Echolocation jamming Arts and entertai ...

, fruits,

berries A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspb ...

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec civ ...

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

and lemon for dessert soufflés. Soufflés are generally baked in ramekins or soufflé dishes: these are typically glazed, flat-bottomed, round

porcelain Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises mainl ...

containers with unglazed bottoms, vertical or nearly vertical sides and fluted exterior borders. The ramekin, or another baking vessel, may be coated with a thin film of butter to prevent the soufflé from sticking. Some preparations also include adding a coating of sugar, bread crumbs, or a grated hard cheese such as

parmesan Parmesan ( it, Parmigiano Reggiano; ) is an Italian hard, granular cheese produced from cows’ milk and aged at least 12 months. It is named after two of the areas which produce it, the provinces of Parma and Reggio Emilia (''Parmigiano'' is ...

inside the ramekin in addition to the butter; some cooks believe this allows the soufflé to rise more easily. After being cooked, a soufflé is puffed up and fluffy, and it will generally fall after 5 or 10 minutes (as risen dough does). It may be served with a sauce atop the soufflé, such as a sweet dessert sauce, or with a sorbet or ice cream on the side. When served, the top of a soufflé may be punctured with serving utensils to separate it into individual servings. This can also enable a sauce to integrate into the dish. File:Lemon Soufflé.jpg, Lemon soufflé File:Soufflé.JPG, Cheese soufflés File:Souffle Kyoto01n2820.jpg, A soufflé at a Japanese restaurant File:Orange and Grand Mariner Soufflé.jpg, Soufflé in a ramekin File:4 ingredient berry souffle.jpg,

Berry A berry is a small, pulpy, and often edible fruit. Typically, berries are juicy, rounded, brightly colored, sweet, sour or tart, and do not have a stone or pit, although many pips or seeds may be present. Common examples are strawberries, raspb ...

soufflé in a coffee cup

Variations

There are a number of both savory and sweet soufflé flavor variations. Savory soufflés often include cheese, and vegetables such as spinach, carrot and herbs, and may sometimes incorporate poultry, bacon, ham, or seafood for a more substantial dish. Sweet soufflés may be based on a chocolate or fruit sauce (lemon or raspberry, for example) and are often served with a dusting of powdered sugar. Frugal recipes sometimes emphasize the possibilities for making soufflés from leftovers. A soufflé may be served alone, with ice cream, fruit, or a sauce. Apple soufflé is made by lining a cake tin with pureed rice boiled in sweetened milk and baking it until it sets. The rice "border" is filled with thickened apple marmalade and whipped egg whites and baked until it rises. File:01 Cheese souffle.jpg, Cheese soufflé in a casserole dish File:Agadir Burger Bar P1100016.JPG, Soufflé served with ice cream

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Souffle Custard desserts Egg dishes French desserts Hungarian desserts

History

Ingredients and preparation

Variations

See also

References

Further reading

External links