Why it works: Rice and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 23% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,399 recipes. Both carry 2-nonanone, which smells fruity, floral. The science ↓
White Rice Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Cook the rice
Throw four ounces of well-washed rice into boiling water.
After five minutes, pour the rice into a sieve and drain it well.
Make the soup
Put the drained rice into a couple of quarts of good white boiling stock.
Let it stew until tender.
Season the soup with salt, cayenne, and pounded mace.
Stir in three quarters of a pint of very rich cream.
Give it one boil.
Serve it quickly.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 2 of 3 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 2 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Rice | 1 cup cooked (158g) white | 206 |
| Cream | 1 tbsp (15ml) heavy | 51 |
| 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.
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. See the original page.
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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Rice + creamtop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,399 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Rice
- Thickens the stock as it softens, giving the soup body.
- White stock (in the method)
- Provides the liquid base that the rice cooks in and absorbs.
- Cream
- Adds richness and a smooth, silky texture to the finished soup.
The step that matters
Stirring in the cream and giving it one boil. Cream can curdle or separate if it is boiled hard or for long. A single brief boil heats it through while keeping the soup smooth and rich.
“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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