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Dessert

Apple Meringue Rice Custard

A custard made with cooked rice, milk, sugar, eggs, vanilla, lemon peel, apple, raisins, walnuts, topped with meringue.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓

Apple Meringue Rice Custard

Oven350°F
Time25 to 30 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Make the custard

  1. Combine rice, 2-1/2 cups milk, 1/2 cup sugar, butter, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a medium saucepan.

  2. Cook over medium heat until thickened, 20 to 25 minutes, stirring frequently.

  3. Beat egg yolks with remaining 1/2 cup milk.

  4. Add to rice mixture and cook 2 minutes longer, stirring constantly.

  5. Add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla and lemon peel.

Assemble and bake

  1. Turn half of the mixture into a buttered shallow 2-quart casserole.

  2. Combine apple, raisins, and walnuts.

  3. Sprinkle over rice.

  4. Top with remaining custard.

  5. Bake at 350°F for 25 to 30 minutes or until hot.

Make the meringue and serve

  1. Beat egg whites until frothy.

  2. Add remaining 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, salt, and vanilla.

  3. Beat until stiff but not dry.

  4. Spread over hot filling, sealing meringue to edges of dish.

  5. Bake 12 to 15 minutes, or until peaks are golden brown.

  6. Serve warm.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

791Calories
21 gProtein
29 gFat
116 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 11 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Rice1 cup cooked (158g) white206
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Apple1 medium (182g)95
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Grape1/2 cup (76g)62
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Walnut1 walnut half (4g)26
Vanilla1 tsp extract (4ml)12
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Salt1 tsp (6g)0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

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.

  1. Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,187 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  2. Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together81,283 recipes

    Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).

  3. Rice + milktop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,374 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  4. Vanilla + appletop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,501 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  5. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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

Cooked rice
Forms the bulk of the custard and gives it a soft, starchy body as it thickens.
Eggs
Yolks thicken the custard and whites whip into the meringue that sets and browns on top.
Milk
Provides the liquid that cooks with the rice and eggs into a creamy custard.
Sugar
Sweetens the custard and the meringue, and helps the meringue hold its structure.
Butter or margarine
Adds fat for richness and a smoother mouthfeel in the custard.
Tart apple
Adds moisture and a sharp acidity that balances the sweet custard.

The step that matters

Cook the custard until thickened, then add the egg yolks. Stirring constantly after adding the yolks keeps the egg proteins from scrambling, and the custard must be thick before baking because the rice will not set it further.

Swap the lemon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rice, milk, sugar, butter, egg, vanilla, apple):

  1. Figfits better
  2. Peachfits better
  3. Coconutfits better
  4. Lemonthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against rice, milk, sugar, butter, egg, vanilla, apple. 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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