Why it works: Rice and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,137 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓
Rice Cakes
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
In a bowl, combine cold boiled rice, eggs, milk, and wheat flour to form a batter.
Cook and serve
Heat a griddle or frying pan over medium heat and add sweet butter.
Pour batter onto the griddle and cook until golden brown on both sides.
Serve warm, optionally topped with ground cinnamon and fine sugar.
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 + cinnamontop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,137 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Wheat + cinnamontop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together537 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol (smoky, clove).
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Milk + wheattop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,418 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
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Rice + wheattop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together423 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).
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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Cold boiled rice
- Forms the bulk of the cakes and gives them a chewy, substantial texture.
- Eggs
- Bind the rice and flour together and help the cakes set as they cook.
- Wheat flour
- Helps the batter hold together and adds structure to the cakes.
- Milk
- Adds moisture so the batter spreads and cooks through evenly.
The step that matters
Cook until golden brown on both sides. Cooking over medium heat lets the centre set before the outside browns too far. Browning comes from the Maillard reaction, so turning the cakes once they are golden on the first side gives an even colour and a firm, cooked interior.
“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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