Name: Rice Cakes
Ingredients: 2 eggs; 2 oz. castor sugar; 2 oz. butter; 1 lemon (grated rind); ½ lb. ground rice; 1 teaspoon lemon juice; 1 teaspoon baking powder

Why it works: Lemon and rice are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 12% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 4,366 recipes. Both carry (e,e)-2,4-decadienal, which smells fatty, deep fried. The science ↓

Rice Cakes

Oven, in the book's wordsA good oven

Ingredients

Directions

The book says “a good oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.

Prepare the batter

Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a bowl, beat the eggs and mix in the castor sugar and butter until smooth.
Add the grated lemon rind, ground rice, lemon juice, and baking powder. Mix well.

Bake and serve

Divide the mixture into small cakes and place them on a baking sheet.
Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown.
Allow to cool before serving.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Lemon + ricetop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,366 recipes

Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
Butter + ricetop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together9,645 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Butter + lemontop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together41,227 recipes

Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together118,967 recipes

Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together98,233 recipes

Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggs: Bind the batter and add structure and richness as they set in the oven.
Butter: Adds fat for a tender texture and rich flavour.
Ground rice: Forms the body of the cakes, giving them a soft, slightly crumbly texture.
Baking powder: Releases gas in the oven so the cakes rise and become lighter.
Castor sugar: Sweetens the batter and helps browning as the cakes bake.