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 ↓
Boiled Rice
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Pick and wash the rice thoroughly.
Place the rice in a basin with the cold water.
Cook
Cook slowly on the stove or in a water bath.
Once the rice has absorbed all the water, add the new milk and salt.
Cook for two hours, stirring often.
Serve
Serve with sugar and cream.
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 + 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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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
- Rice
- Starch that swells and softens as it absorbs liquid, forming the body of the dish.
- Cold water
- Hydrates the rice grains so they can swell and cook evenly.
- New milk
- Adds liquid and richness, and its milk sugars and proteins give a creamy texture and light browning.
- Salt
- Seasons the dish and sharpens the flavour of the milk and rice.
The step that matters
Stirring during the long cook. Milk contains proteins and sugars that settle and scorch on the bottom of the pan during a long, slow cook. Frequent stirring keeps the heat even and prevents sticking and burning.
“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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