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 (; abbr. ) 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 a verb and used as an adject ...

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, 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 flavour, texture, and visual appeal to a dish. ''Sauce'' is a French wor ...

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., appl ...

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,

cheese Cheese is a type of dairy product produced in a range 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 prod ...

and vegetables for savory soufflés; and jam, 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 fruit, stone or pit (fruit), pit although many wikt:pip#Etymology 2, pips or seeds may be p ...

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cocoa beans that can be a liquid, solid, or paste, either by itself or to flavoring, flavor other foods. Cocoa beans are the processed seeds of the cacao tree (''Theobroma cacao''); unprocesse ...

banana A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large treelike herbaceous flowering plants in the genus '' Musa''. In some countries, cooking bananas are called plantains, distinguishing the ...

and

lemon The lemon (''Citrus'' × ''limon'') is a species of small evergreen tree in the ''Citrus'' genus of the flowering plant family Rutaceae. A true lemon is a hybrid of the citron and the bitter orange. Its origins are uncertain, but some ...

for dessert soufflés. Soufflés are generally baked in

ramekin A ramekin (, ; also spelled ramequin) is a small dish used for culinary purposes. Name The term is derived from the French ', a cheese- or meat-based dish baked in a small mould. The French term is in turn derived from early modern Dutch ', ...

s or soufflé dishes: these are typically glazed, flat-bottomed, round

porcelain Porcelain (), also called china, is a ceramic material made by heating Industrial mineral, raw materials, generally including kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The greater strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to oth ...

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 (, ) is an Italian cuisine, Italian Types of cheese#Hard cheese, hard, Types of cheese#Granular, granular cheese produced from Dairy cattle, cow's milk and aged at least 12 months. It is a Grana (cheese), grana-type cheese, along wit ...

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 of berries in the cul ...

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 Marmalade (from the Portuguese ''marmelada'') is a fruit preserves, fruit preserve made from the juice and peel of citrus fruits boiled with sugar and water. The well-known version is made from bitter orange. It also has been made from lemons ...

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:Soufflé Custard desserts Egg dishes French desserts

History

Ingredients and preparation

Variations

See also

References

External links