Why it works: Rice and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,374 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Rice Cakes
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
In a small bowl, separate the cooked rice into grains with a fork.
In a mixing bowl, combine the sifted flour and salt.
Warm 1 cup of milk until it is lukewarm, then add it to the flour mixture. Reserve the second cup of milk for later use.
Separate the egg yolks and whites.
Make the batter
Mix the rice into the batter, adding enough of the reserved milk to maintain a smooth consistency.
Beat the egg yolks and fold them into the batter.
Whip the egg whites until stiff and gently fold them into the batter.
Cook
Preheat a griddle.
Pour the batter onto the griddle and cook like griddle cakes.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
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Rice + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,374 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Rice + flourtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,611 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Flour and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Yolks add richness and the whipped whites lighten the batter for a tender texture.
- Flour
- Provides the starch and structure that holds the pancakes together as they cook.
- Cooked rice
- Adds body and a chewy texture to the batter.
- Milk
- Hydrates the flour and makes the batter pourable, adding moisture to the pancakes.
The step that matters
Folding in the whipped egg whites. Whites are whipped until stiff and folded in gently so they keep their air. Stirring vigorously would deflate them, leaving the pancakes denser and less light.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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