souffle

Everyday

1. (cooking) A soufflé is a light, fluffy baked dish made with beaten egg whites, which puffs up high in the oven; it can be savoury (cheese) or sweet (chocolate, lemon). tree →
2. The word is French and means "puffed up" or "breathed". tree →

In the lessons

In cooking lessons, soufflés teach how air beaten into egg whites expands when heated, so the dish rises — a bit of science. Soufflés are famous for being tricky: they collapse quickly if you open the oven or wait too long. In stories and TV cookery shows, a sinking soufflé is a classic disaster.

Examples

• The cheese soufflé rose high above the dish. tree →
• Don't open the oven door or the soufflé will sink! tree →
• We had a chocolate soufflé for pudding. tree →
• A soufflé is made with whipped egg whites. tree →
• Serve the soufflé straight away before it falls. tree →
• The chef's soufflé was as light as a cloud. tree →
• Hot air in the egg bubbles makes a soufflé puff up. tree →

Note

Written with an accent in French and in careful English: soufflé; "souffle" without the accent is common in plain text. Say "SOO-flay". Countable: soufflés. A different medical word "souffle" (a soft heart sound) exists but is rare.