SOUFFLÉES AND OMELETS.
Reading edition
The best cooks will sometimes fail in making soufflées, as their manufacture requires the very greatest care and attention. It is also necessary to be able to judge to a nicety the time they will take to cook, because, to be eaten in perfection, they should be served directly they are ready. In making a soufflée, be very careful to take exact measure of the different ingredients; a little too much flour, or rather too little milk, may make a great difference in the lightness of it. The flour should be the best Vienna.
Another point to be attended to is to whip up the whites of the eggs as stiffly as possible, and to mix them with the other ingredients very lightly. Bear in mind that the object in beating the whites of eggs is to introduce air into the soufflée; and it is the expansion of the air when the soufflée is cooking which makes it light. If the whites are mixed heavily with the other ingredients, the air which has been whipped into them is beaten out again; and consequently they fail to make the soufflée light. When the soufflée is firm in the middle, it is sufficiently cooked, and should be served with the greatest expedition, as it will begin to sink rapidly. An omelet soufflée, left in the oven two or three minutes over time, will be quite spoilt, and become tough and leathery.
Steamed soufflées are turned out of the tins they are cooked in, and served with a sauce poured round them.
Baked soufflées are served in the tins, which are slipped into a hot metal or silver case, or a napkin is folded round them.
Plain omelets are quickly made, and quickly spoiled. Some practice is required to make the plain omelet to perfection, as the art consists in folding the omelet just at the right moment, before the eggs used in them are too much set. The omelet should not be firm throughout, like a pancake, but should be moist and succulent in the middle. A very sharp fire is essential, and the omelet should not take more than three minutes in the making.
Steamed Soufflée.
Ingredients—1 oz. of butter.
1 oz. of flour.
¼ pint of milk.
4 eggs.
2 dessertspoonfuls of castor sugar.
Method.—Well grease a soufflée-tin with butter.
Fold a half sheet of kitchen paper in three.
Brush it over with melted butter, and fasten it round the top of the tin, letting it come nearly three inches above it.
Melt the butter in a small stewpan.
Mix in the flour smoothly.
Add the milk, and stir and cook well.
Mix in the sugar, and beat in the yolks of three of the eggs, one by one.
Add a little flavouring essence.
Beat the whites of four eggs to a stiff froth, and stir them in lightly.
Put the mixture at once into the tin.
Cover it with buttered paper, and steam carefully for half an hour.
When done, it will be firm in the middle.
Turn it quickly on to a hot dish, and serve at once, with wine sauce poured round it (see Sauces).
Cheese Fondu.
Ingredients—1 oz. of butter.
½ oz. of flour.
¼ pint of milk.
3 oz. of grated Parmesan cheese.
3 eggs.
A little pepper, salt, and Cayenne.
Method.—Prepare the tin as for a steamed soufflée.
Melt the butter in a small stewpan.
Mix in the flour smoothly, add the milk, and stir and cook well.
Add the seasoning, and beat in the yolks of two of the eggs.
Then mix in the grated cheese.
Beat the whites of the three eggs to a stiff froth, and stir them in lightly.
Put the mixture at once into the tin, and bake for twenty-five or thirty minutes.
When done, it will be firm in the middle.
Serve in the tin, with a napkin folded round it.
Omelet Soufflée.
Ingredients—2 yolks and 3 whites of eggs.
1 dessertspoonful of castor sugar.
A little flavouring essence.
Method.—Beat the yolks in a basin with the sugar, and add the essence.
Whip up the whites as stiffly as possible, and mix them lightly with the yolks.
Pour the mixture into a well-greased omelet-pan, and put it into a brisk oven for about three minutes, until of a pale-brown colour.
Turn it on to a hot dish.
Fold it over and serve quickly.
A Savoury Omelet Soufflée.
May be made by omitting the flavouring essence, and substituting pepper and salt for the sugar. The omelet should then be served with a rich gravy poured round it.
Cheese Ramequins.
Make a mixture as directed for Cheese Fondu. Partly fill little ramequin cases with it, and bake in a quick oven for a few minutes.
Batter for Fritters (Kromesky).
Ingredients—¼ lb. of flour.
1 tablespoonful of oiled butter or salad oil.
1 gill of tepid water.
The white of 1 egg, beaten to a stiff froth.
If for sweet fritters, castor sugar to taste.
Method.—Put the flour into a basin.
Make a hole in the middle, and put in the oil.
Stir smoothly, adding the water by degrees.
Beat until quite smooth.
Then add the beaten white, stirring it in lightly.
Apple Fritters.
Pare some nice apples.
Cut them into slices about a quarter of an inch thick, and stamp out the core with a round cutter.
Lay the rings in the batter, and cover them well with it.
Lift them out with a skewer, and drop them into hot fat (see French Frying).
When lightly browned on one side, turn them on to the other.
Drain them on kitchen paper.
Dish on a folded napkin, with castor sugar dusted over them.
A Small Savoury Omelet.
Ingredients—2 or 3 eggs.
1 dessertspoonful of finely-chopped parsley.
1 oz. of butter.
Pepper and salt.
Method.—Break the eggs into a basin.
Add to them the parsley, pepper, and salt.
Melt the butter in a small omelet-pan.
Beat the eggs very lightly, and pour them into the pan.
Shake and stir the mixture vigorously until it begins to set.
When some of the egg is set and the other still liquid, tilt the pan, and draw the egg quickly to the one side of it.
Leave it there to set for two or three seconds; then tilt the pan again and fold the omelet, quickly drawing it to the other side of the pan.
As soon as the outside is set, turn it on a hot dish and serve immediately.
To make an omelet successfully, a very quick fire is necessary; an omelet should not take more than three minutes to cook.
Larger omelets are made by using more eggs and butter and parsley in proportion.
Chopped cooked ham and kidney may be added to a savoury omelet; also mushrooms and shalots. The latter should be finely chopped, and fried in a little butter before they are used. A cheese omelet is made by adding grated Parmesan or other cheese to the mixture.