Why it works: Butter and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Empress Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the rice mixture
Boil the rice in milk until very soft.
Add the butter and boil for a few more minutes, then set aside to cool.
Beat the eggs well and stir them into the rice mixture.
Assemble and bake
Line a dish with puff pastry.
Layer the rice mixture, then a thin layer of jam, and repeat until the dish is full.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) for 30 minutes.
Serve
Serve hot or cold; if cold, pour a boiled custard over it.
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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Rice + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,374 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Rice + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,645 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Egg + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Rice
- Softened in milk to form the bulk and creamy body of the pudding.
- Butter
- Adds richness and fat, giving the filling a smoother, softer texture.
- Eggs
- Bind the rice mixture and help it set as the pudding bakes.
- Jam
- Adds sweetness and fruity flavour between the rice layers.
The step that matters
Boiling the rice until very soft. Rice must be fully softened in the milk before it is mixed with eggs and baked. Firm grains stay chewy and do not blend into a smooth, even filling.
“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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