Name: Old-fashioned Baked Rice Pudding I
Ingredients: 2 cups cooked rice; 4 eggs, beaten; 3 cups milk; 1/3 cup sugar; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

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 ↓

Old-fashioned Baked Rice Pudding I

Oven300 degrees

Time1 hour

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

Combine rice, eggs, milk, sugar, salt, vanilla and lemon peel.
Pour into buttered 2-1/2-quart baking dish.
Set dish in pan of hot water.

Bake and serve

Bake at 300 degrees for 1 hour.
After 30 minutes, insert spoon at edge of pudding and stir from bottom.
Continue baking until knife inserted near center comes out clean.
Serve hot or cold.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

506Calories

19 gProtein

14 gFat

74 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 7 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Rice	1 cup cooked (158g) white	206
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Vanilla	1 tsp extract (4ml)	12
Lemon	juice of 1 lemon (48ml)	12
Salt	1 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.

Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together19,187 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
Rice + milktop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together7,374 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together35,032 recipes

Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Rice + vanillatop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,352 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Rice + lemontop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,366 recipes

Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).

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

Eggs: Set the custard as they cook, giving the pudding its structure and body.
Milk: Provides the liquid base that cooks into a creamy, soft custard texture.
Sugar: Adds sweetness and helps the pudding brown lightly at the surface.
Cooked rice: Forms the body of the pudding, absorbing custard and giving it substance.

The step that matters

Set the dish in hot water and bake gently. A water bath moderates the oven heat so the egg custard cooks evenly and stays smooth instead of curdling or drying at the edges.

Swap the lemon

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

Coconutfits better
Figfits better
Blueberryfits better
Lemonthe original

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

Lemon Rice Pudding19 recipes

Lemon Cake228 recipes

Lemon Ice147 recipes

Rice Cake120 recipes

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Old-fashioned Baked Rice Pudding I