Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓
Caramel Rice Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the caramel
Prepare the caramel by dissolving the loaf sugar in water over low heat until golden.
Line a mold with the caramel.
Make the custard
Simmer the rice in the milk until tender, then cool slightly.
Stir in the beaten eggs, castor sugar, and vanilla essence.
Pour the mixture into the prepared mold.
Steam and serve
Cover with buttered paper and steam for nearly one hour.
Serve hot or cold, or steam in dariole molds if preferred.
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.
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Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Rice + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,374 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Rice + vanillatop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,352 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Loaf sugar
- Melts and caramelizes to form a golden coating that lines the mold.
- Rice
- Softens in simmering milk to give the pudding its body and bulk.
- Milk
- Cooks with the rice and sets with the eggs to form a creamy base.
- Eggs
- Set during steaming, giving the pudding structure and a firm, sliceable texture.
The step that matters
Dissolving and browning the caramel. Sugar burns quickly once it turns golden, and overheating gives a bitter taste. Cooking over low heat lets it color evenly and release smoothly from the mold.
“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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