Why it works: Rice and mushroom match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,515 recipes. Both carry 2,4-nonadienal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Timbale of Macaroni, Serpentine
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Grease the timbale molds and dust with line cracker meal.
Line the molds with well-oiled rice paper.
Boil the macaroni in salted water for 20 minutes.
Drain the macaroni and immerse it in ice water.
Once cool, drain and press the macaroni dry.
Select whole pieces and arrange them in a spiral shape inside the mold.
Fill the cavity with Macaroni a la Creme.
Pour ½ inch of water into a baking pan and set the molds inside.
Cover the molds with oiled paper.
Bake in a slow oven at 300°F (150°C) for 30 minutes.
Unmold, remove the paper, and place on a hot platter.
Garnish each timbale with sautéed fresh mushrooms and serve.
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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Rice + mushroomtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,515 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
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