Why it works: Milk and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
1928 Apple Rice Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Cook the rice
Combine milk and water in a double boiler or enameled pan.
Stir in rice.
Steam all until rice is tender.
Remove from heat.
Stir in sugar, salt and butter with a fork.
Prepare the apples
Stew your apples (or use already stewed apples in a can or jar) by putting them in a little water and cooking over a low flame until soft.
Assemble and bake
Line a buttered dish with half of the rice.
Place cooked apples in the center.
Spread the marmalade over the apples and rice.
Top with remaining rice.
Bake at 350°F for 30 minutes.
Serve with milk or cream.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 7 of 8 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 7 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Rice | 1 cup cooked (158g) white | 206 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Apple | 1 medium (182g) | 95 |
| Orange | 1 medium (131g) | 62 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Water | not in our table | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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 + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Milk + ricetop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,374 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Apple + orangetop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,230 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Milk + appletop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,104 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).
-
Rice + orangetop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,067 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Rice
- Forms the pudding's body as it cooks tender in the milk and absorbs liquid.
- Milk
- Supplies the liquid and richness that cook the rice into a creamy pudding.
- Apples
- Add moisture, fruity flavor and soft texture between the layers of rice.
- Orange marmalade
- Adds sweetness and a bright citrus note that flavors the apples and rice.
- Butter
- Adds fat that enriches the flavor and softens the texture of the pudding.
The step that matters
Steam the rice until fully tender. Rice must absorb the milk gradually over gentle heat; if it is undercooked or the heat is too high, it stays firm or scorches and sticks to the pan, leaving the pudding grainy.
Swap the orange
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, rice, sugar, butter, apple):
- Vanillafits better
- Peachfits better
- Figfits better
- Orangethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, rice, sugar, butter, 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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