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
Prepare
Wash the rice well in cold water.
Make the pudding
Put the rice into a saucepan with the milk and boil until soft.
Dissolve the gelatine in a little water and add the sugar.
Pour the gelatine mixture into the rice, then add the whipped cream. Mix all thoroughly and add a few drops of flavouring essence.
Set and serve
Pour into a mould and let it set.
Once set, turn out and serve with fruit or preserves.
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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Cream + sugartop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Milk + creamtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together29,399 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Milk + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Rice + creamtop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,399 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).
Milk and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 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
- Carolina rice
- Provides the starchy body that gives the pudding its soft, thick texture as it cooks in milk.
- Milk
- Cooks with the rice to form the creamy base and carries the sweetness and flavour.
- Thick cream
- Adds richness and fat, giving a smoother, softer mouthfeel to the set pudding.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps balance the rich dairy flavour.
- Gelatine
- Sets the pudding so it holds its shape when turned out of the mould.
The step that matters
Dissolving the gelatine fully before combining. Gelatine must be completely dissolved and evenly mixed in; lumps or undissolved granules leave weak, uneven set spots in 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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