Why it works: Rice and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,374 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Rice Froth
Ingredients
Directions
Make the rice pudding
Wash the rice and boil it in water until absorbed.
Pour the milk over the rice and boil gently until tender, stirring frequently.
If using lemon rind or almonds, boil them with the milk.
Sweeten and flavor with lemon or almond essence, adding it to the sugar if using essence.
Once cold, transfer the rice and milk to a glass dish.
Top and finish
Beat the egg whites to froth and mix in the powdered sugar.
Spread the frothy mixture over the rice and top with spoonfuls of raspberry jam.
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.
-
Rice + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,374 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Raspberry + lemontop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,109 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
-
Rice + lemontop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,366 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
-
Milk + raspberrytop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,014 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Milk + lemontop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,053 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
- Rice
- Absorbs liquid and softens as it boils, forming the body of the pudding.
- Milk
- Cooks with the rice to give a creamy, tender texture and rich flavor.
- Egg whites
- Whipped to a froth, they form a light, airy topping that sets when cooled.
- Powdered sugar
- Dissolves easily into the whipped whites, sweetening the topping.
- Raspberry jam
- Adds fruity sweetness and acidity as spoonfuls over the pudding.
The step that matters
Beat the egg whites to froth. Whites must be beaten until frothy so they trap air and hold a light foam. Under-beaten whites stay runny and sink into the pudding instead of sitting on top.
Swap the raspberry
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rice, milk, egg, sugar, lemon):
- Vanillafits better
- Coconutfits better
- Orangefits better
- Raspberrythe original
Fit is the average pairing score against rice, milk, egg, sugar, lemon. 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.
More rice pudding recipes
You might also like
Lemon Cake228 recipes
Raspberry Jam150 recipes
Lemon Ice147 recipes
Rice Cake120 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.