This dish is baked to a dry consistency, so the shaking test comes in handy. | Image Credit: Getty Images/istock

The origin story of my making Soufflé has now disappeared in the mist of time. However, I admit that this has a lot to do with the fact that after a series of epic daily lunch failures, I turned to baking because I think that baking dinner can make at least one decent meal a day.

I do remember the result of my first attempt was quite good. My husband and I’s soufflé, its rise is exactly what we expected, and since we like eggs, it’s a light and satisfying meal. Dinner. Soon, it turned into soufflé cheese for dinner every Monday night.

My soufflé making began in the pre-Internet era, so my preferred recipe was selected from the women and families that my grandmother hid in 1966. I read the recipe and was very surprised that it looked so simple. Obviously, one only needs some white flour, butter, eggs, cheese and milk... and some wrist games to beat the eggs to perfection. In 1966, the production of soufflé as light as air was obviously manual. Over time, when she went home for the holidays, the child was a passionate eggbeater, albeit a bit ineffective. In later life, the husband avoided the whisk and stirred the mixture manually, which worked well.

Necessity is the mother of invention and so on, I quickly turned to my masala shelf to dilute the taste of my soufflé. Look! A pinch of pepper, a pinch of chili powder, and minced garlic all perfectly amplify the basic taste.

Over time, my experiments became more and more bold. I will grind the onion and add it to the mixture. Paprika and mustard have become common features, as do shredded mushrooms, salmon, ham, and bacon. However, occasionally I will overplay it. It's like when I diced colored bell peppers, broccoli and boiled potatoes and put them in the soufflé. Or the time when I sliced ​​sausage slices in it; another time I put thinly sliced ​​sweet potato cubes into the mixture. These soufflés rise but are not too high and definitely not as light as air. Although the end result is pleasing, any old-fashioned professional chef, whether fictitious or real, from Bertie Wooster's aunt Dahlia's chef Anatole to Auguste Escoffier would immediately condemn me for posing as a soufflé.

Then there are many individuals and organizations making fruit souffles, but this offends my purists. If there are no eggs and cheese in Soufflé, it is not Soufflé, so say I. As for the souffles made with coffee liqueur, chocolate or Grand Marnier, let's call them the correct names, shall we? They are custard. Or mousse.

Reading this recipe, I found that the perfect soufflé is a work of art, involving the judicial balance between air and moisture, using Bain Marie, pre-cooling mixtures, and so on. I also collected some useful facts. Only when it involves the use of many eggs and is smoother than a silk mixture, soufflé can reach amazing heights. Make a spoonful of cream and milk together to make a super binder. It’s best to eat it while it’s hot, not after it has fallen on its own and turned into some kind of egg casserole; this collapse is usually because the dish is baked to a dry consistency, so the shaking test here comes in handy . Some cheeses have no effect on this dish, be it sticky or bland, while most other cheeses give it a sublime flavor. External browning does not always correspond to a fully cooked inside. If you don't have a ceramic souffle tray or a small mold with a high enough side to encourage the soufflé to fly into the sky, all your efforts will be in vain. There shouldn’t even be a bit of egg yolk in the egg white mixture. The egg whites must be beaten to the right consistency: not too wet or too hard. If you open the oven door while the soufflé is baking in it, all your efforts will (again) vanish.

A few years ago, a group of us ate at the Le Voltaire restaurant on the left bank of Paris. I ordered an onion soup (another dish I often make at home) and a cheese souffle. Our team behaved quite typical and soon began to taste each other's food. French onion soup is much better than my version. Soufflé is great, it melts in the mouth and the cheese leaves a lingering aftertaste.

Everyone has a fork Soufflé. Then everyone turned to me and said, I don't know what it is, but I like your souffle better. More chat.

It's hard not to feel complacent, I will tell you.

(From the cult recipe Larousse Gastronomique)

40 grams of butter, plus 40 grams of flour for extra lubrication

2 deciliters or 1 cup cold milk

75-90 g cup grated Gruyere cheese

60 grams grated Parmesan cheese

1. Preheat the oven at 200 degrees for 15 minutes.

2. Make white sauce with butter, flour and cold milk.

3. Add salt, pepper, nutmeg and cheese.

5. Beat 4 egg whites until stiff foaming, and mix well.

6. Spread butter on the soufflé pan, pour the mixture, and bake for about 25 minutes until it is fully fermented and a deep golden brown on top.

This Bangalore writer is a writer, journalist and manuscript editor.

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Printable version | 4:39:45 PM, December 6, 2021 | https://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/food/the-as-light-as-air-souffl/article35130887.ece

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