Why it works: Rice and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 26% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 8,744 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Rice Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Soak the rice in warm water for 2 hours.
Combine the soaked rice and water in a kettle.
Add a small pinch of salt.
Sweeten to taste with loaf sugar.
Cook
Simmer the rice for 30 minutes.
Boil until it becomes a smooth paste and the water is reduced.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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 + sugartop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together8,744 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Whole rice
- Its starch swells and breaks down as it cooks, thickening the liquid into a paste that sets the jelly.
- Loaf sugar
- Adds sweetness to balance the mild, starchy flavour of the rice.
The step that matters
Boil until the rice becomes a smooth paste and the water is reduced. Rice starch swells and breaks down as it cooks, thickening the liquid. Stopping too early leaves the jelly thin and grainy, while overcooking can scorch the base of the kettle.
“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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