Why it works: Flour and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 124,287 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Rice Fritters
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the batter
Boil the rice until tender and let it cool.
In a bowl, combine the cooked rice, eggs, and flour to form a batter.
Fry and serve
Heat oil in a deep pan over medium‑high heat.
Drop spoonfuls of the batter into the hot oil and fry until golden brown, stirring constantly.
Serve warm with wine and sugar, or with a sauce made of butter and wine.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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.
-
Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
-
Sugar + saucetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,147 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Wine + buttertop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,645 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-furfurylthiol (coffee, roasted).
-
Butter + saucetop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together15,338 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Bind the batter so the fritters hold together while frying.
- All-purpose flour
- Adds body to the batter, helping it hold its shape in the hot oil.
- Cooked rice
- Forms the bulk of the fritter, giving it a soft, tender interior.
The step that matters
Frying the batter spoonfuls. The oil must be hot enough to set the outside quickly and brown it. If the oil is too cool, the batter absorbs oil and turns greasy and loose. Stirring keeps the fritters from sticking together and helps them brown evenly.
“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.
You might also like
Steamed Rice48 recipes
Rice Griddle Cakes28 recipes
Rice and Cheese Casserole23 recipes
Rice Flour Soup17 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.