On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 220

Down Side: It Must Fall Charles’s law also means that what must go up in the oven must come down at the table A balloon expands as its temperature rises, but shrinks again if its temperature falls Of course a soufflé must be taken out of the oven to be served, and from that moment on it loses heat As the soufflé bubbles cool, the air they contain contracts in volume, and the vapor that came from liquid water in the mix condenses back into liquid Rules of Thumb Several basic facts follow from the nature of the driving forces behind the soufflé First, the higher the cooking temperature, the higher a soufflé will rise: the plain heat expansion will be greater, and more mix moisture will be vaporized At the same time, a higher cooking temperature also means a greater subsequent overpressure and swifter fall Then there’s the effect of consistency A thick soufflé mix can’t rise as easily as a thin mix, but it also won’t fall as easily A stiff foam can resist the overpressure So the two critical factors that determine the behavior of a soufflé are the cooking temperature and the consistency of the soufflé base A hot oven and thin mix create a more dramatic rise than a moderate oven (or water bath) and a thick mix, but also a more dramatic collapse at the table The rise and fall of a soufflé Left: The soufflé mix begins filled with small air bubbles Center: Heat causes gases to expand and water to vaporize into steam, so the bubbles expand and raise the mix Right: After the soufflé has been cooked, cooling causes the bubble gases to contract and the steam to condense into liquid water, so that the bubbles contract and the soufflé shrinks  ... to expand and water to vaporize into steam, so the bubbles expand and raise the mix Right: After the soufflé has been cooked, cooling causes the bubble gases to contract and the steam to condense into liquid water, so that the bubbles... foam can resist the overpressure So the two critical factors that determine the behavior of a soufflé are the cooking temperature and the consistency of the soufflé base A hot oven and thin mix create a more... A hot oven and thin mix create a more dramatic rise than a moderate oven (or water bath) and a thick mix, but also a more dramatic collapse at the table The rise and fall of a soufflé Left: The soufflé mix begins filled with small