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 ↓
Rice Muffins
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a good steady oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Dilute the rice, ensuring it is free from lumps, with milk and beaten eggs.
Sift together flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder.
Add the dry ingredients to the rice mixture and mix into a smooth, rather firm batter.
Bake
Grease muffin pans well and fill them halfway.
Bake in a hot oven at 400°F (200°C) for 15 minutes.
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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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Rice + flourtop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,611 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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
- Cold boiled rice
- Adds moisture and bulk to the batter, giving the muffins a tender, soft crumb.
- Flour
- Provides the main structure that holds the muffins together as they bake.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and add structure and richness as they set in the oven.
- Royal baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter, helping the muffins rise in the hot oven.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and liquid so the flour hydrates and the batter can be mixed smooth.
The step that matters
Mixing the batter to a smooth, rather firm consistency. Lumps of rice or overmixing change the texture. Rice must be fully diluted first so it blends evenly. Once the dry ingredients are added, mixing should stop when the batter is smooth, because extra stirring develops gluten in the flour and can make the muffins tough.
“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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