Name: Broiled Butterscotch Rice Pudding
Ingredients: 1/2 cup uncooked rice; 1 cup water; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon maple extract; 1 3-3/4-ounce package butterscotch pudding mix; 2 cups milk; 1 tablespoon butter or margarine; Topping:; 1/3 cup maple syrup; 2 tablespoons melted butter or margarine; 1 cup shredded coconut

Why it works: Rice and coconut match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,063 recipes. Both carry decanal, which smells soap, orange peel. The science ↓

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.

Rice + coconuttop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together1,063 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together81,283 recipes

Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Rice + milktop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together7,374 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Milk + coconuttop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,648 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Butter + coconuttop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,467 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Uncooked rice: Provides the bulk and chewy body of the pudding once simmered and folded in.
Butterscotch pudding mix: Its starch thickens the milk and sets the custard, adding butterscotch flavor.
Milk: Supplies the creamy liquid base that the starch thickens into a smooth custard.
Butter or margarine: Adds fat for richness and a smoother mouthfeel in the pudding and topping.
Maple syrup: Adds sweetness and helps the topping brown under the broiler.
Shredded coconut: Adds chewy texture and toasted flavor when broiled on top.

The step that matters

Cook the pudding over medium heat, stirring constantly. Starch granules in the mix swell and thicken the milk as it heats. Without constant stirring, they can settle, scorch on the pan bottom, or form lumps, leaving the custard uneven.

Swap the coconut

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rice, milk, butter, maple syrup):

Coconutthe original
Vanillafits about as well
Pumpkinfits less well
Applefits less well

Fit is the average pairing score against rice, milk, butter, maple syrup. 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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Coconut	1/2 cup shredded (40g)	283
Rice	1 cup cooked (158g) white	206
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Maple Syrup	1 tbsp (20ml)	52
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Water	not in our table	0
Pudding	not in our table	0
Topping	not in our table	0

Broiled Butterscotch Rice Pudding