Why it works: Rice and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 23% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,399 recipes. Both carry 2-nonanone, which smells fruity, floral. The science ↓
Rice Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the rice
Boil the rice in the stock.
Rinse half of the rice through a fine sieve.
Put the stock in a saucepan, add all the rice, and simmer gently for 5 minutes.
Finish the soup
Beat the egg yolks and mix them with the boiled cream, then strain through a fine sieve.
Remove the soup from the heat, add the egg and cream mixture, stirring frequently.
Gradually heat the soup while stirring, but do not let it boil to prevent curdling.
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.
-
Rice + creamtop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,399 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).
-
Egg + creamtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
-
Rice + eggtop 28% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,350 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
Egg and cream barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 42,166 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
- Its starch thickens the stock and gives the soup body.
- Egg yolks
- They thicken the soup and add richness as they gently set with heat.
- Cream
- Its fat adds richness and a smooth, velvety mouthfeel.
- Stock
- It forms the liquid base and carries the flavour of the soup.
The step that matters
Gradually heat the soup without boiling. Egg yolks thicken at moderate heat but curdle when they get too hot. Stirring while heating gently and keeping the soup below a boil keeps the texture smooth.
“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.
More rice soup recipes
You might also like
Rice Fritters84 recipes
Steamed Rice48 recipes
Rice Griddle Cakes28 recipes
Rice and Cheese Casserole23 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.