Why it works: Butter and white wine are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 5,083 recipes. Both carry ethyl octanoate, which smells fruity, wine. The science ↓
Rice — Continued
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.
Prepare the rice paste
Pound the rice in a mortar until fine and pass it through a sieve.
Mix in the yolks of six eggs to form a firm paste.
Put the mixture into a well-buttered mold.
Bake at 350°F (175°C) until done.
Cook the rice
In a saucepan, boil 1 lb of rice in water until nearly soft, then drain the rice.
Add white wine, water, lemon juice, and lemon rind to the rice.
Stir over heat until soft.
Remove from heat and let cool.
Mold and serve
Butter the inside of a mold.
Sprinkle with white wine.
Pour in the rice mixture.
Let it firm up for 10-12 hours.
Turn out onto a dish.
Decorate with candied or preserved fruits.
Serve.
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 + white winetop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together5,083 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity, wine).
-
White wine + lemontop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together3,832 recipes
Shared aroma: myrcene (balsamic, herbaceous).
-
Rice + lemontop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,366 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
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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 + lemontop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,227 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Rice
- Its starch thickens and sets into a firm, sliceable mass when cooked and cooled.
- Egg yolks
- They bind the rice into a firm paste and enrich it as they set in the mold.
- White wine
- It adds moisture and a light fruity aroma to the rice.
- Lemon juice
- It adds acidity that brightens the flavour and balances the richness of the yolks.
- Lemon rind
- Its aromatic oils add a fresh citrus aroma to the rice.
The step that matters
Stir over heat until soft. The rice must be cooked fully soft so its starch can gelatinize and bind with the yolks; undercooked grains will not set into a firm, cohesive cake.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rice, egg, butter, white wine, sugar):
- Vanillafits about as well
- Lemonthe original
- Coconutfits about as well
- Peachfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against rice, egg, butter, white wine, sugar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.
“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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