Why it works: Rice and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,374 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Rice Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Cook the rice
Boil the rice in salted water with the zest of the orange or lemon until tender.
Drain the rice and remove the peel.
Make the cream mixture
Soften the gelatine in cold water, then dissolve it in hot milk with sugar.
Mix the gelatine mixture with the rice lightly.
When the mixture begins to firm, add sherry or madeira if using.
Fold in the whipped heavy cream gently.
Mould and serve
Mould the mixture and chill until set.
Garnish with whipped cream and candied peel, or serve with plain cream or preserved fruits.
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.
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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 + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Rice + orangetop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,067 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).
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Orange + sherrytop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together823 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).
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Milk + sherrytop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,479 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3,5-trimethylpyrazine (cocoa, roasted).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Rice
- Forms the body of the dessert, giving bulk and a soft, tender texture.
- Gelatine
- Sets the mixture so it holds its shape when moulded and chilled.
- Heavy cream
- Adds richness and a light, airy texture when folded in whipped.
- Milk
- Carries the dissolved gelatine and sugar, adding softness and mild richness.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the dessert and balances the flavour.
The step that matters
Folding in the whipped cream. Whipped cream holds air that gives lightness. Stirring it vigorously deflates the foam and makes the dessert dense. Fold gently, and only once the mixture has begun to thicken so the cream stays suspended rather than sinking.
Swap the orange
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rice, milk, sugar, sherry, cream):
- Vanillafits better
- Strawberryfits better
- Figfits better
- Orangethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against rice, milk, sugar, sherry, cream. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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