Why it works: Flour and nutmeg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 18,623 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Rice Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the batter
Boil the rice until very soft.
In a bowl, mix the sifted flour and baking powder.
Add enough water to the flour mixture to make a thick batter.
Bake and serve
Fold in the whipped egg whites, dissolved saccharine, and essence.
Pour the mixture into a baking dish.
Bake for about 30 minutes at 400°F (200°C).
Grate nutmeg over the pudding before serving.
Serve hot or cold, optionally with cream.
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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Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together18,623 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Rice + nutmegtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,779 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Vanilla + nutmegtop 10% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,781 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Rice + vanillatop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,352 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Flour + vanillatop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,241 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Rice
- Cooked until very soft, it gives the pudding its bulk and tender, moist texture.
- Sifted flour
- Provides starch and structure that holds the batter together as it bakes.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the heat, helping the batter rise and turn light.
- Egg whites
- Whipped air bubbles set in the oven, adding lightness and structure to the pudding.
- Saccharine
- Adds sweetness to the pudding without sugar.
The step that matters
Folding in the whipped egg whites. Stirring too hard knocks out the air bubbles in the whipped whites, so the pudding bakes denser and rises less. Fold gently with a spatula, cutting through and turning the mixture, until just combined.
Swap the vanilla
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rice, flour, egg, nutmeg):
- Raisinfits better
- Coconutfits better
- Lemonfits about as well
- Vanillathe original
Fit is the average pairing score against rice, flour, egg, nutmeg. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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