Physics in the kitchen: the soufflé

On my way to the mountains, I listened in the car to a podcast about physics in the kitchen. One of the examples of “physics in the works” was the soufflé. I have enjoyed this dish in French restaurants and delighted in the delicate and airy texture. Soufflé has a bad reputation so very few people actually make it at home. Everyone thinks that it is very difficult to make and an inexperienced home chef is bound to create a disaster. We read and hear about how the air bubbles in the beaten egg white get trapped and expand in the oven, and the protein hardens due to heat and provides a form of scaffolding. And there is always a warning that the soufflé will collapse when taken out of the oven. True, it will collapse, which is why it needs to be served right out of the oven. But there is really no magic to preparation. It is actually not difficult. Upon my return from the mountains, while I chatted with my daughter on FaceTime, I made a great vanilla soufflé in no time at all. No disasters, no stress, no complicated steps, delicious result. 

The fewer ingredients you use, the better the chances of success, as additional ingredients will simply add more bulk for the “scaffolding”. So the texture of the cheese soufflé will be a bit heavier. The most important things to remember are: 1. Do not overbeat the egg whites 2. Do not open the oven while the soufflé is cooking.

For my vanilla soufflé, I used the recipe on the following website: https://eugeniekitchen.com/vanilla_souffle/

The recipe is easy to follow, and it worked very well. The only addition I recommend (based on my experience at a French restaurant) is adding some whipped cream at the end. I remember the waiter breaking the middle of the soufflé and adding a tablespoon of whipped cream. It was heaven in the mouth!