with an egg-white foam, then dramatically
inflated above their dish by oven heat — have
the reputation for being difficult preparations.
Certainly they can be among the most
delicate, as their name — French for “puffed,”
“breathed,” “whispered” — suggests. In fact,
soufflés are reliable and resilient. Many
soufflé mixes can be prepared hours, even
days in advance, and refrigerated or frozen
until needed. If you manage to get any air into
the mix, an inexorable law of nature will raise
it in the oven, and opening the door for a few
seconds won’t do it any harm. The inevitable
post-oven deflation can be minimized by your
choice of ingredients and cooking method,
and can even be reversed.
Edible Insulation
Egg foams are often used to cover and
conceal the heart of a dish. Among the
most entertaining of these constructions is
the hot, browned meringue enclosing a