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 Pancakes
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Prepare a griddle and heat it.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
In another bowl, beat the eggs and mix them with the milk.
Combine the rice with the flour mixture.
Add the egg and milk mixture.
If the batter is too thick, add a little more milk.
Cook and serve
Pour batter onto the hot griddle and cook until golden brown on both sides.
Serve the pancakes hot as they are cooked.
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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Rice + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,374 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Rice + flourtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,611 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Flour and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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
- Cooked rice
- Adds body and a tender, slightly chewy texture to the pancakes.
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the main structure that holds the pancakes together.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas when heated, helping the pancakes rise and stay light.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure and richness as they set.
- Milk
- Hydrates the flour and loosens the batter, adding moisture.
The step that matters
Cooking on the griddle until golden brown on both sides. The griddle must be hot enough to set the batter quickly. If it is too cool, the pancakes absorb fat and turn heavy and pale, and if it is too hot the outside browns before the centre sets.
“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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