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 Water
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Wash the rice well in two or three waters.
In a stewpan, bring 1 quart of warm water to a boil.
Add the rice and cinnamon to the boiling water.
Boil for one hour until the rice becomes a pulp.
Strain and serve
Remove from heat and strain the rice water into a basin.
Sweeten the rice water to taste and let it cool before serving.
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.
-
Rice + cinnamontop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,137 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Cinnamon + sugartop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Rice + sugartop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together8,744 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Cinnamon and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 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
- Carolina rice
- Breaks down during boiling to thicken the water and give it body.
- Cinnamon
- Adds warm aroma and flavour to the water as it simmers.
The step that matters
Boil for one hour until the rice becomes a pulp. The rice must simmer long enough for its starch and grains to break down fully; stopping early leaves the liquid thin and gritty after straining.
“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
Rice Milk37 recipes
Cinnamon Tincture10 recipes
Ground Rice Milk7 recipes
Vegetable Soup350 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.