Why it works: Rice and cinnamon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,137 recipes. Both carry guaiacol, which smells smoky, sweet. The science ↓
Rice Jelly
Ingredients
Directions
Make the rice liquid
Wash the rice.
Bring the water to a boil and add the rice and cinnamon.
Boil gently for about 45 minutes until the water is thick and starchy.
Strain the mixture.
Sweeten to taste.
Set and unmold
Pour the strained mixture into small molds rinsed with water.
Let the molds set until firm.
Once firm, turn out the jelly.
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 + cinnamontop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,137 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Cinnamon + sugartop 10% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together30,779 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Rice + sugartop 26% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together8,744 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Cinnamon and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 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 cooking water into a liquid that sets as a jelly.
- Water
- Carries the rice starch and cinnamon flavor and becomes the body of the jelly.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness to balance the mild, starchy flavor of the jelly.
The step that matters
Boil gently for about 45 minutes until the water is thick and starchy. Starch must release from the rice and thicken the liquid enough to gel once cooled. Too little cooking leaves the jelly weak and runny, while a hard boil can scorch the bottom of the pot and make the flavor harsh.
“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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