Why it works: Rice and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 16% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 9,645 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓
How to Cook Rice Fob Ceusts Oe Stands
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the rice
Wash the rice in plenty of cold water and drain it.
In a saucepan, combine the rice with three times as much water.
Add salt and butter, then bring to a boil while stirring.
After 6 minutes, cover the pan tightly and place it in a 350°F (175°C) oven for 1 hour.
If any rice on top is browned, remove it.
Spoon the rice from the saucepan, avoiding any that sticks to the sides.
Shape the custard
Pound the rice in a mortar to a fine paste and place it on a clean board.
Wet your hands with cold water and work the rice together.
Butter a mold of your desired shape, fill it with the rice, and smooth the surface.
Cover with buttered paper and place a wooden cover inside the mold.
Add a heavy weight to press the rice down solidly.
Let it sit for 10 hours to cool.
Serve
To serve, dip the mold in hot water and turn the rice out onto a dish.
Cut the rice into desired shapes with a small sharp knife and keep covered with a damp napkin until ready to use.
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.
-
Rice + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,645 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Rice
- Forms the bulk of the dish and, once pounded and pressed, sets into a firm shape.
- Butter
- Adds richness and helps the rice release smoothly from the buttered mold.
The step that matters
Covering the rice in the oven. Cooking tightly covered lets the rice steam evenly in its own moisture, so it softens fully without drying. Removing browned rice from the top keeps off-flavors out of the batch.
“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
The 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.
Rice Fritters84 recipes
Steamed Rice48 recipes
Rice Griddle Cakes28 recipes
Rice and Cheese Casserole23 recipes