If preferred, corn flour or arrowroot may be
used to make it, instead of ground rice.
vin.
SOUFFLES.
•Defore leaving puddings entirely, I think girls would
be glad to know how to make the very delicious
superior puddings called souffles. Souffles are
troublesome, because there are so many little points
about them which seem trifling, but which really must
be attended to ; but these are not very difficult when one
has got into the way of doing them. Anyhow, great care
must be taken with them, and the directions I am about
to give must be followed exactly. There must be no
guess work with soufflds. If a girl is inclined to say to
to herself, “ Why be so particular about small things ?
I dare say they do not really signify,” her souffld will be
a failure. Souffles may be either baked or steamed.
When they are baked they are served in the tin in which
they are cooked. In this case a frill of white paper or a
folded napkin made hot is fastened round the tin, or if
there is such a thing at hand the mould is put into a
plated souffle dish kept for the purpose. It is not every
one, however, who possesses a plated dish of this kind ;
and when we have to manage without one care must be
taken to have the paper trill or the folded napkin quite
ready to pop over the souffld, for it must be served straight
from the oven before it has time to fall, or its excellence
will be gone. Many cooks have a hot salamander — or,
what does just as well, a red-hot shovel — ready, and hold
it over the souffld on its passage from the kitchen to the
dining-room door, in order to keep it up.
I should, however, recommend a girl, until she acquired
a little skill in this direction, to steam the souffld instead
of baking it. A steamed souffld does not sink so quickly
as a baked one ; it is easier to manage also; and, in my
opinion, quite as good. Also, neither souffld dish nor
frill is needed for it. It is simply turned upon a hot dish,
46 The Girl's Own Cookery Book.
and the sauce which, of course, was made ready for it, is
poured round it, when it is ready to serve.
One word, however, I must say by way of warning.
Keep the tin that is used for steaming soufilds exclusiv^y
for steaming soufflds ; never let it be put into the oven,
and do not allow a tin that is used to bake soufidds to be
washed out when done with. Scrape it well and wipe it
out with a dry cloth or a piece of clean paper. In making
a souffld, the first thing that we have to do is to prepare
the tin. It should be an ordinary plain tin mould that
will hold a pint and a half. Butter it well inside, using
the fingers in doing this so that every part may be
reached. Cut a round of paper, butter this also, and lay
it at the bottom. Now take a large sheet of kitchen
paper, fold it to make a band that will go round the tin,
spread butter with a knife on the part that will be above
the tin, and place the paper outside so that it will rise two
or three inches above the rim, and tie it on securely. Put
I oz. of butter in a small stewpan, melt it, then stir in i oz.
flour. When quite smooth, add a dessert-spoonful of fine
white sugar and one gill, or a quarter of a pint, of milk.
Keep stirring the sauce till it boils and thickens. When
it leaves the sides of the stewpan quite clean it is done,
but it should not be taken off before this point is reached.✪ Soufflé
Page 27 · 1 recipe record on this page
Presented as published in 1882. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
If preferred, corn flour or arrowroot may be used to make it, instead of ground rice.
vin.
SOUFFLES.
Before leaving puddings entirely, I think girls would be glad to know how to make the very delicious superior puddings called souffles. Souffles are troublesome, because there are so many little points about them which seem trifling, but which really must be attended to; but these are not very difficult when one has got into the way of doing them. Anyhow, great care must be taken with them, and the directions I am about to give must be followed exactly. There must be no guess work with soufflés. If a girl is inclined to say to herself, “ Why be so particular about small things ? I dare say they do not really signify,” her soufflé will be a failure. Soufflés may be either baked or steamed. When they are baked they are served in the tin in which they are cooked. In this case a frill of white paper or a folded napkin made hot is fastened round the tin, or if there is such a thing at hand the mould is put into a plated soufflé dish kept for the purpose. It is not every one, however, who possesses a plated dish of this kind ; and when we have to manage without one care must be taken to have the paper frill or the folded napkin quite ready to pop over the soufflé, for it must be served straight from the oven before it has time to fall, or its excellence will be gone. Many cooks have a hot salamander—or, what does just as well, a red-hot shovel—ready, and hold it over the soufflé on its passage from the kitchen to the dining-room door, in order to keep it up.
I should, however, recommend a girl, until she acquired a little skill in this direction, to steam the soufflé instead of baking it. A steamed soufflé does not sink so quickly as a baked one; it is easier to manage also; and, in my opinion, quite as good. Also, neither soufflé dish nor frill is needed for it. It is simply turned upon a hot dish,
46 The Girl's Own Cookery Book.
and the sauce which, of course, was made ready for it, is poured round it, when it is ready to serve.
One word, however, I must say by way of warning. Keep the tin that is used for steaming soufflés exclusively for steaming soufflés; never let it be put into the oven, and do not allow a tin that is used to bake soufflés to be washed out when done with. Scrape it well and wipe it out with a dry cloth or a piece of clean paper. In making a soufflé, the first thing that we have to do is to prepare the tin. It should be an ordinary plain tin mould that will hold a pint and a half. Butter it well inside, using the fingers in doing this so that every part may be reached. Cut a round of paper, butter this also, and lay it at the bottom. Now take a large sheet of kitchen paper, fold it to make a band that will go round the tin, spread butter with a knife on the part that will be above the tin, and place the paper outside so that it will rise two or three inches above the rim, and tie it on securely. Put I oz. of butter in a small stewpan, melt it, then stir in i oz. flour. When quite smooth, add a dessert-spoonful of fine white sugar and one gill, or a quarter of a pint, of milk. Keep stirring the sauce till it boils and thickens. When it leaves the sides of the stewpan quite clean it is done, but it should not be taken off before this point is reached.
Records on this page
Soufflé