Soufflés

The French word soufflé literally means “to puff” or “to expand.” Unfortunately, soufflès have a somewhat undeserved reputation as being not only delicate and airy but also a rather frustrating test of the chef’s skill, as they may fail to rise at all or, having done so, may collapse at the wrong time. The phrase “timing is everything” certainly applies here.

Probably no dessert causes more fear and insecurity in cooks than the soufflé — at least until they realize how easy it actually is — and apparently we are not alone. Mrs. Beeton proclaimed in her 1861 classic cookbook: “Soufflés demand, for their successful manufacture, an experienced cook.” She also advised that “The most essential thing to insure success of these, the prettiest but most difficult of all entremets, is to secure the best ingredients from an honest tradesman.” Louis Eustache Ude’s The French Cook (1813) had this to say about soufflés: “If sent up in proper time they are very good eating, if not, they are no better than other puddings.” The soufflé even took its toll on the great Augustus Escoffier, who at one important dinner party was so worried about the timing of his soufflés that he fired batches every three minutes to ensure that some would be ready at exactly the right moment. (I must confess that this is a trick I have employed myself at times, although no one ever told me about it. I guess if you are thrown in the water, you learn to swim.)