The word souffle is the past participle of the French verb, souffler, which means “to blow up” or “puff up.” Combine egg whites with custard, and it will puff up into a fine, golden souffle when baked.

Egg yolks and beaten egg whites, mixed with various other ingredients make up a souffle. It can be served as a tasty main course dish, or it can be sweetened for a dessert.

Each souffle is made up of either a French creme base, a flavored creme sauce or puree and beaten egg whites.

The base provides the flavor, and the egg whites provide the lift. The base is commonly made up of cheese, jam, fruits, berries, chocolate, and lemon. This day is dedicated to the cheese based souffle.

HOW TO OBSERVE

Order a cheese souffle at your favorite restaurant, or you can try your culinary skills with the Cheese Souffle recipe below.

Use  #NationalCheeseSouffleDay to post on social media.

HISTORY

Within our research, we were unable to find the creator of National Cheese Souffle Day.

Cheese Soufflé

INGREDIENTS

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan
• 2 teaspoons flour
• 1/2cup milk
• 1/2cup grated Gruyere or Cheddar
• pinch cayenne pepper
• pinch nutmeg
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 egg whites
• pinch salt

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oven to 375° F. Grease one 16-ounce or two 8-ounce ramekins with 1 tablespoon of butter. Coat with the Parmesan, then tap out the excess. Set aside.

2. In a small saucepan, over medium heat, melt the remaining butter. Stir in the flour and cook 1 minute. Whisk in the milk and cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce boils, 1 minute. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese until melted. Blend in the cayenne and nutmeg. Whisk in the yolks one at a time. Set aside. (The recipe can be made to this point up to 1 day ahead. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.)

3. In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites with the salt until stiff (but not dry) peaks form. Stir 1/4 of the egg whites into the cheese sauce to loosen it. Gently fold in the remaining egg whites. Spoon into the ramekins. Bake until puffed and browned, 40 minutes for a 16-ounce soufflé, 20 minutes for two smaller ones. Serve immediately.