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Dessert

Jellied Rice

A dessert made by cooking rice in milk, thickened with gelatin and egg yolks, sweetened, and chilled.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 7 ingredients
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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 ↓

Jellied Rice

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

  1. Soak the gelatin in ½ cup of milk for 1 hour.

  2. Wash the rice and steam it in 1 cup of milk for 30 minutes.

  3. In a double boiler, heat the remaining 2 cups of milk until scalded.

Make the custard

  1. Beat the egg yolks and add 2 tablespoons of sugar, then pour the hot milk over them.

  2. Return to the boiler and cook until thick as cream, stirring constantly.

  3. Remove from heat, add the gelatin and remaining sugar, and stir until dissolved.

  4. Strain the mixture and let it cool.

  5. Once cool, add the vanilla and rice.

Set and serve

  1. Whip the cream and gently fold it into the mixture.

  2. Pour into a mold and refrigerate until hardened.

  3. Serve with or without preserved fruit.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

  1. Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,187 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  2. Gelatin + creamtop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together1,628 recipes

    Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).

  3. Milk + ricetop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together7,374 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).

  4. Gelatin + sugartop 7% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,778 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

  5. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

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

Gelatin
Sets the milk and cream mixture into a firm, sliceable jelly when chilled.
Egg yolks
Thicken the milk custard and add richness and a smooth texture.
Milk
Forms the liquid base that the custard and gelatin set into.
Cream
Adds fat and a light, tender texture when folded in whipped.
Rice
Provides soft grains and body within the set custard.
Sugar
Adds sweetness and balances the richness of the eggs and cream.

The step that matters

Cooking the custard until thick. Egg yolks thicken as they heat but can scramble if overheated, so stirring constantly over gentle heat keeps the custard smooth. Gelatin added afterward sets the dish once chilled.

“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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