Why it works: Vanilla and milk 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 ↓
Rice Cream Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the custard
Blend the corn-starch with a little cold milk.
Add the rest of the milk.
Stir in the beaten egg yolks and sugar.
Heat the mixture in a saucepan, stirring until hot.
Add the hot rice.
Continue stirring over heat until it thickens like custard.
Remove from heat.
Add flavoring.
Bake and brown
Pour into a pudding dish.
Place in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C).
Beat the egg whites until foamy, then add 2 tablespoons powdered sugar and beat until stiff and glossy.
When the pudding is browned, spread the meringue on top.
Sprinkle with granulated sugar.
Return to the oven to brown slightly.
If the oven is not hot enough, use a red-hot kitchen shovel to brown the meringue.
Serve
Serve very cold.
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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Vanilla + milktop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
-
Rice + corntop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together933 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Rice + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,374 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Vanilla + sugartop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Vanilla + corntop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,943 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
Vanilla and sugar 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
- Eggs
- Egg yolks thicken the custard as they heat, and whites whip into the meringue topping.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base that the starch and egg thicken into a creamy custard.
- Rice
- Provides the body of the pudding and absorbs some of the liquid as it cooks.
- Corn-starch
- Thickens the custard so it sets smoothly rather than staying runny.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the egg whites hold a stiff, glossy meringue.
The step that matters
Stir the custard until it thickens. Egg and starch thicken as they heat. If the mixture overheats or stops being stirred, the eggs can scramble and the starch can form lumps.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rice, vanilla, sugar, milk, corn, egg):
- Coconutfits better
- Figfits better
- Blueberryfits better
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against rice, vanilla, sugar, milk, corn, egg. 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.
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