On Food and Cooking

the equivalent of the omelette soufflée, often
called soufflé à la minute because it can be
made quickly with no advance preparation. A
concentrated sugar syrup will make the bubble
walls more viscous and stable, as will the
various carbohydrates (cellulose, pectin,
starch) in pureed fruits and vegetables, and
the proteins in a puree of cooked meat, fish, or
poultry. If the pureed flesh is raw, then its
proteins will coagulate during the cooking
along with the egg whites and provide
substantial reinforcement to the foam. The
starchy brown particles in cocoa and
chocolate stiffen the bubble walls by both
absorbing moisture and getting sticky and
swollen as they do so.
The most versatile kind of soufflé base is
thickened with cooked starch in the form of
stock preparations like pastry cream or
béchamel sauce, or a panade (like pastry
cream, but without sugar and including butter)
or bouillie (p. 99). The standard consistency