Rice Soufflés

History

Rice Souflés is a printed recipe in The Jewish Manual (London: T. & W. Boone, 1846), catalogued as the first Jewish cookbook in English. The book was published anonymously under the byline "A Lady"; it is widely attributed to Lady Judith Montefiore, but that attribution rests on circumstantial evidence — chiefly that she was one of the few Jewish women in Victorian England to hold the title "Lady," and that the recipes resemble dishes from the Montefiore household — and definitive proof has never been established.

As printed, the recipe directs the cook to boil "fine picked rice, in pure fresh milk," sweetened and flavoured with a bay leaf, lemon peel, and a stick of cinnamon (all removed once the rice is tender), then to line a round or souflé dish with the rice, mound sweetened, stewed, smoothly-beaten apple in the centre "rather higher in the middle than at the sides," cover it in small heaps of sweetened egg-white froth flavoured "with lemon, or noyau essence," and "brown delicately with a salamander." It adds that "stewed cherries or any other kind of fruit" may replace the apple. In the book's own glossary a souflé is defined as "a very light kind of pudding, made with some farinaceous substance, and [that] generally replaces the roast of a second course".

The Manual was written expressly for the Jewish housekeeper, and its preface states that "All difficult and expensive modes of cookery have been purposely omitted... the object of which is, to guide the young Jewish housekeeper in the luxury and economy of 'The Table'".

Beyond this 1846 appearance, the sources reviewed do not document where or when this specific rice-and-apple souflé originated, who ate it, or any migration or lineage for the dish, and none describes it as a marker of wealth, class, or social status.

Ingredients

• rice
• milk
• sugar
• 1 bay leaf
• lemon peel
• 1 stick cinnamon
• apples
• egg whites
• lemon or noyau essence

Instructions

1. Boil fine picked rice in pure fresh milk with a bay leaf, lemon peel, and a stick of cinnamon until the rice is tender. Remove the bay leaf, lemon peel, and cinnamon stick.
2. Line a round soufflé dish with the cooked rice. In the center, mound the previously boiled, sweetened, and smoothly beaten apples, piling them higher in the middle than at the sides.
3. Beat the egg whites to a froth, sweeten, and flavor with lemon or noyau essence. Place this mixture in small heaps tastefully over the apples and rice.
4. Brown delicately using a salamander. The soufflé may alternatively be made with stewed cherries or any other kind of fruit instead of apples, if preferred.