On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 222

the equivalent of theomelette soufflée, often
calledsoufflé à la minute because it can be
madequicklywithnoadvancepreparation.A
concentratedsugarsyrupwillmakethebubble
walls more viscous and stable, as will the
various carbohydrates (cellulose, pectin,
starch) in pureed fruits and vegetables, and
theproteinsinapureeofcookedmeat,fish,or
poultry. If the pureed flesh is raw, then its
proteins will coagulate during the cooking
along with the egg whites and provide
substantial reinforcement to the foam. The
starchy brown particles in cocoa and
chocolate stiffen the bubble walls by both
absorbing moisture and getting sticky and
swollenastheydoso.
Themostversatilekindofsoufflébaseis
thickenedwithcookedstarchintheformof
stockpreparationslikepastrycreamor
béchamelsauce,orapanade(likepastry
cream,butwithoutsugarandincludingbutter)
orbouillie(p.99).Thestandardconsistency


ofastarchybaseisthatofamedium-thick
sauce,andproducesamoist,fairlylight
soufflé.Doubletheflourandyougetadrier,
densersouffléthatisrobustenoughtobe
unmolded,placedinadishwithahotsauce,
andraisedagainintheovenorunderthe
broiler(Escoffier’ssouffléàlasuissesse).

Tripletheflourandyougetaso-called
“puddingsoufflé”—withthebreadytexture
youwouldexpectfromthename—that
won’tfallnomatterwhatyoudotoit.
(Increasetheflour15-foldandyouhavea
spongecake.)
Whipping and Folding the Egg Whites The
best consistency for egg whites in a soufflé
preparationisstiffyetmoist,glossypeaks.A
stiffbutdryfoamishardertomixevenlywith
thebase,whileasofterfoamisstillcoarse—
sothesoufflétexturewillbethesame—and
may leave the mix so runny that it will
overflowbeforeitsets.