How can lemon juice slow souffle down from deflating? (Vincent)

source: Home Cooking Adventure

Although we do not know when and who invented souffle, the first written record we can find is Vincent de la Chappelle in the 1700s being the first cook (Dadmun, 2017). As 'L’Art du Cuisinier' (1814) suggested: "When the soufflé is well risen, touch it lightly, if it resist a little it is enough; it must be served immediately, as it is apt to fall.", souffle is such a short-living delight, which needed to be served immediately. This makes people wonder the way to slow down its deflation.

How does the history of soufflé mixture affect the height of soufflé?

How does the history of soufflé mixture between folding the whisked egg whites into the batter and place it in the oven affect the height of soufflé?

                                            Credit: The Spruce Eats

Introduction

Soufflé is a airy cake simply makes with flour, eggs, butter and milk. It originated in France and became a cornerstone of French dessert. It is notable that French cooking focuses on the techniques of making consistent and simple delicious food, instead of food innovation. Although making a fluffy and light soufflé is not complicated, it does take time and skills to master. Therefore, it is vital to investigate how soufflé is made in order to make a perfect soufflé. 

How the difference in the amount of flour added affects the height of the soufflé? (Priscilla)

CCST 9045 Individual Project – Souffle

UID: 3035568398

Research Question:

How the difference in the amount of flour added affects the height of the soufflé? 

Introduction:

Soufflé is a classic dish characterised with its unique airy and soft texture. Additionally, it is originated in France while the name “soufflé” means “to blow” or “to breath” in French. Interestingly, there are different version when it comes to making soufflé given that it could be a sweet dessert but can also be a savoury main dish. Meanwhile, the amount of flour added is one of the important factors contributing to its fluffiness. Therefore, it is my aim to investigate how the amount of flour added altering the height of a savoury soufflé. 

(Whitney) How does the egg white beating time affect the height of a soufflé?

How does the egg white beating time affect the height of a soufflé?

Credit: foodnetwork.com

Credit: incredibleegg.org

Introduction

Soufflé, is a well-known french dessert. It is famous for its air, fluffy and light taste. The height of the soufflé undoubtedly affects the fluffiness of it. One of the major factors affecting its height is the egg white. Different egg white beating time will result in different height of the soufflé. Therefore, this project aims to investigate the influence of egg white beating time on the increase in the height of the soufflé, so as to be a reference for people to home-make soufflé with relatively perfect fluffiness.

Hypothesis

If the egg white beating time is longer, the height of the baked soufflé will be taller.

Experimental Test

How does the egg white beating time affect the height of the soufflé?

Who?

Ho Wing from group 17.

What?

To investigate the effect of egg white beating time on the height of the soufflé.

When?

To measure the height of the soufflé with different egg beating time after the soufflé is baked.

Where?

My home.

Why?

To find out the most appropriate egg white beating time for the most desirable height of the soufflé.

How?

The experiment will be carried out by doing 6 trials with the same ingredients and procedures but different egg white beating time (i.e. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 minutes respectively). The height of each soufflé should be measured immediately after it leaves the oven because it will deflate so soon.

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    The Soufflé Recipe

Ingredients:

Serving: 3 

2  Egg yolks  

3  Egg white

20g  Unsalted butter

30g  Sugar 

20g Low gluten flour
150mL Whole milk

1 teaspoon Vanilla essence

5g  Unsalted butter for the ramekin preparation
10g Sugar for the ramekin preparation

Steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 °C
2. Brush 5g butter and coat 10g sugar onto the interior surface of the ramekin.
3. Heat the milk with 20g butter with low heat.
4. Separate the egg yolks and egg whites.
5. Beat the egg yolk with the 15g sugar, sifted low gluten flour and milk.
6. Heat the egg yolk mixture with low heat and keep stirring it while heating. Then cool it down. 

7. Beat the egg white until it enters the Stiff Peak Stage. Then add in 15g sugar at a time, while you beat it. Add in a teaspoon of vanilla extract once they were dissolved. 

8. Fold the egg white mixture into the egg yolk mixture.

9. Pour the batter into a ramekin.

10. Use a spatula to make the surface flat.

11. Circle along the edges of the mixture and the ramekin with a finger.

12. Put it into the preheated oven.

13. Bake it at 180°C for 20-25 minutes.
14. Take it out of the oven.
15. Serve immediately!

P.s. Since all the ingredients except for egg white are controlled, I will make the 3-servings batter, then I will divide it equally into 3 trials.  Meanwhile, I will independently beat the 1 egg white with 5g sugar and 1/3 teaspoon Vanilla essence (referring to step 7) each trial.

Serving: 1 

2/3  Egg yolks  

1     Egg white

20/3g  Unsalted butter

10g     Sugar 

20/3g  Low gluten flour
50mL Whole milk

1/3 teaspoon Vanilla essence

5g  Unsalted butter for the ramekin preparation
10g Sugar for the ramekin preparation

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Identifying 3 variables

Independent variable:

The time of beating the egg white 

Dependent variable:

The height of the soufflé

Controlled variables: 

• The amount of all the ingredients
• The type and size of equipment (i.e. mixing bowl, electric whisk, ramekin, oven, spatula, pot)
• The temperature of all the ingredients (i.e. room temperature) 
• The temperature of the oven 
• The soufflé baking time 
• The number of egg whites to be beaten each time
• The strength/speed of egg white beating ( an electric whisk is used to ensure the strength consistency)  

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The Science behind the Egg White

A soufflé is basically made up of two parts which are a base and whipped egg whites. The base gives the majority of the flavor to the soufflé, like sweet or savory, while the egg whites give the volume and structure to it.  

Why should we separate the egg yolk and egg white?
Eggs can puff up foods when air is beaten into them. Using egg whites to leaven foods is better with whole eggs or egg yolks as egg whites can create the foams with more stability and volume. Egg yolk is mainly composed of fat and protein, while the egg white is mainly composed of protein. (Denaturation) When air is beaten into the globular protein molecules in egg whites, the proteins unfold and stretch to capture the air bubbles (coagulation), resulting in a foam. Such a volume in the foam provides the volume and structure of soufflé. Besides, the presence of fat will cause the air bubbles to collapse that the foaming ability of the egg white will be reduced to a large extent. The fat in the egg yolk will hinder the coagulation of protein molecules around the air bubbles due to its hydrophobic nature. The protein molecules would be likely to stick to the fat molecules than binding with air bubbles. Thus, we should separate the egg yolk and egg white, and whip the egg white independently.

Credit:https://inksugarspice.com/2014/03/03/the-science-of-meringue-making/

(raw egg white) denature      coagulate(whipped egg white)

Folded proteins → Unfolded proteins → Aggregated proteins

As the proteins unfold, they expose their hydrophobic (water-hating) and hydrophilic (water-loving) ends. The proteins will rearrange the ends to form new bonds so their water-hating ends are in the air and the water-loving ends are in the water. This results in protein molecules capturing the air bubbles. If the proteins are overheated or overbeaten, the bonds will tighten and squeeze out the moisture, leaving the eggs dry, firm and rubbery.

Stages of whipped egg whites

The whipped egg whites will reach various stages which are foamy, soft peak, firm peak, stiff peak and overbeaten. The difference among the stages depends on the egg white beating time. The egg white texture is different in different stages. The experiment will test it out to investigate whether there is any effect on the height of the soufflé.

Credit: https://www.thespruceeats.com/all-about-whipping-egg-whites-1328681

Credit: Everyday Food (12March2016) Whipping Egg White To Perfect Peaks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhuRyq7NrcA

Reference

Auguste Escoffier School of Culinary Arts Home Gourmet (2014). The Science of a souffle. escoffieronline.com. Retrieved from https://www.escoffieronline.com/the-science-of-a-souffle/

Egg Farmers of Canada (n.d.). Food Science. Eggs.ca. Retrieved from https://www.eggs.ca/eggs101/view/95/food-science

Everyday Food (2016). Whipping Egg White To Perfect Peaks. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhuRyq7NrcA

GIAPO (n.d.). The Chemistry of Egg Whites. giapo.com. Retrieved from https://www.giapo.com/the-chemistry-of-egg-whites/

Moncel, B. (2019). All About Whipping Egg Whites. thespruceeats.com. Retrieved from https://www.thespruceeats.com/all-about-whipping-egg-whites-1328681

Vaclavik, V.A. & Christian, E.W. (2008). Eggs and Egg Products. In: Essential of Food Science. Food Science Text Series. Springer, New York, NY.