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Dessert

Rhubarb Mould

A chilled rhubarb and sago dessert set in a mould.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 4 ingredients
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Why it works: Rhubarb and sugar are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 18% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,852 recipes. Both carry 1-penten-3-one, which smells fish, pungent. The science ↓

Rhubarb Mould

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Wash and chop the rhubarb.

  2. Wash the sago.

  3. Soak the sago in ½ cup water.

Cook

  1. Boil the rhubarb with ½ cup water for about 10 minutes.

  2. Add the sago to the rhubarb.

  3. Stir in the sugar.

  4. Boil for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly.

Set and serve

  1. Pour the mixture into a basin or mould that has been dipped in cold water.

  2. Let it cool and firm up.

  3. Turn it out and serve.

  4. Optionally serve with boiled custard.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

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.

  1. Rhubarb + sugartop 18% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,852 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).

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

What each ingredient does

Rhubarb
Provides the tart flavour and fruit body of the mould.
Sugar
Sweetens the rhubarb and balances its tartness.
Sago
Thickens the mixture and helps it set firm as it cools.

The step that matters

Boil for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Sago starch can settle and scorch on the bottom of the pan if not stirred, and it must cook fully to become translucent and thicken evenly, which is what allows the mould to set properly when cooled.

“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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