Why it works: Raisin and nutmeg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,377 recipes. Both carry alpha-terpineol, which smells lilac, floral. The science ↓
Rice Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare the rice
Wash the rice and place it in pots of cold water. Boil for 30 minutes.
In a separate bowl, dissolve the sugar and salt in the milk.
Mix and bake
When the rice is soft, add the milk mixture, currants, raisins, and eggs. Mix well.
Pour the mixture into greased pans and grate nutmeg over the top.
Bake in a 350°F (175°C) oven until brown.
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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Raisin + nutmegtop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,377 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-terpineol (lilac, floral).
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Rice + nutmegtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,779 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Currant + raisintop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together6,180 recipes
Shared aroma: gamma-nonanolactone (coconut, creamy).
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Condensed milk + sugartop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together804 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Rice + raisintop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together565 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Rice
- Forms the body of the pudding, giving it bulk and a soft, starchy texture.
- Eggs
- Bind the mixture and help it set as it bakes.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the top brown during baking.
- Milk
- Provides liquid and richness, keeping the pudding moist and tender.
- Currants
- Add concentrated fruit sweetness and chewy texture throughout.
- Raisins
- Add concentrated fruit sweetness and chewy texture throughout.
The step that matters
Cooking the rice until soft. Rice must be fully softened before the milk and eggs are added, because starch that is not fully cooked stays firm and will not blend into a uniform, tender pudding.
Swap the currant
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rice, condensed milk, sugar, raisin, egg, nutmeg):
- Coconutfits better
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Currantthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against rice, condensed milk, sugar, raisin, egg, nutmeg. 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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