National Cheese Souffle Day is on May 18th.
A souffle is a fluffy, baked cake-like dish that starts with a sauce made primarily with egg yolks. Beaten egg whites are used to lighten the mixture along with other items such as cheese and spices to flavor it.2 Souffles can be made as a main or side dish. Souffles can be a savory dish like the cheese souffle, or a sweet dish for dessert, such as a chocolate souffle. Souffles are usually made in a special dish called a souffle pan.3
National Cheese Souffle Day History
The French invented souffles in the late 1700s. A chef named Beauvilliers was making souffles as early as 1782. The first recipes were published in Louis Ude’s The French Cook of 1813. The cookbook offered recipes for various kinds of souffles and touted them as being an economical dish to serve when having company.4 According to the Oxford Companion to Food, cooks had trouble with the souffles collapsing. That was the start of the reputation that souffles have for being a difficult dish to make.4
Souffles....love 'em? Hate 'em? Do you have a favorite recipe?
National Cheese Souffle Day
Five Food Finds about Soufflet
- A souffle is essentially a simple white sauce enriched with egg yolk. Stiff egg whites are folded right into the mixture. At this point, you can add whatever flavor you like: cheese, vegetables, chocolate or fruit.
- The secret to a great souffle is to beat the egg whites into stiff white peak consistency and to fold them carefully into the sauce to keep as much air in the mixture as possible.
- Savory souffles are often too light for a main course, but the addition of chicken and spinach here bolsters this into a substantial main course. When you break into it with your fork, the seductive aroma of cheese, chicken and spinach pours out. It's elegant, airy and fluffy.
- The secret to success is making sure your timing is just right. So plan ahead carefully; figure out what you will be serving first -- such as a salad or soup -- and time the souffle to go into the oven as you sit down for your first course.
- You can wait for a souffle, but a souffle waits for no one. You don't want to serve a deflated souffle.
It seems intimidating, but as long as you follow directions, it's easy. I like a cheese souffle, and sometimes add crab, but I don't really like dessert souffles. I like to serve a salad with it for lunch. When the kids were little, they liked this, but DH was never a fan.
Cheese Souffle
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
12 teaspoon salt
dash cayenne pepper
1 cup milk
1 cup shredded Cheddar or Swiss cheese
4 eggs, separated
1.Preheat oven to 350. In a saucepan, melt butter. Stir in the flour, mustard, salt and cayenne until smooth; gradually add the milk. bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat; stir in cheese until melted. Remove from the heat. Stir a small amount of hot mixture into egg yolks; return all to the pan, stirring constantly. Cool slightly.
2.Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, beat egg whites until stiff peaks form. Fold into egg yolk mixture. Pour into four greased 10-oz. souffle dishes or custard cups. Run a butter knife around edge of dishes after filling. This keeps the batter from clinging to the edge and you get a better rise. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Serve immediately.
Do you EAT food your not suppose to?
- KamsOne
on May. 18, 2012 at 9:07 AM