Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓
Rice-pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare and cook
Rinse the rice under cold water until the water runs clear.
In a pot, combine rice, milk, sugar, and salt.
Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Finish and serve
If using, beat the egg in a bowl and temper it with a bit of the hot mixture, then stir it back into the pot.
Add vanilla extract and cook for an additional 5 minutes.
Serve warm or chilled.
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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Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Rice + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,374 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Rice + vanillatop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,352 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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
- Rice
- Provides the starch that thickens the milk and gives the pudding its body.
- Milk
- Forms the creamy liquid base that the rice softens and thickens in.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps give the pudding its soft, rich flavour.
- Egg
- Optional; adds richness and helps set the custard-like texture when tempered and stirred in.
The step that matters
Tempering the egg. Adding raw egg straight into hot liquid can scramble it. Beating the egg and mixing in a little hot mixture first gradually raises its temperature, so it blends smoothly into the pudding.
“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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