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 Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare
Wash the rice in two or three waters, then place it in a saucepan with cold water and bring to a boil until swollen.
In a bowl, break the two eggs.
Add the sugar and milk to the eggs, and stir well.
Trim the skin from the suet and shred it finely.
Grease a quart dish with clarified dripping or butter.
Drain the rice in a colander and lay it in the greased dish.
Assemble and bake
Pour the milk and egg mixture over the rice, then sprinkle the shredded suet on top.
Grate the nutmeg over the top.
Bake in an oven at 400°F (200°C) for 40 minutes to 1 hour.
Serve once baked.
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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Rice + nutmegtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,779 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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Milk + nutmegtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together14,685 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
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Egg + nutmegtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together24,744 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Egg and nutmeg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 24,744 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
- Forms the body of the pudding and absorbs the milk as it bakes.
- Milk
- Provides liquid that sets with the eggs into a creamy custard.
- Eggs
- Help the custard set and bind the pudding together.
- Moist sugar
- Adds sweetness and helps the top brown lightly in the oven.
- Suet
- Adds richness and fat that keeps the pudding moist as it bakes.
The step that matters
Drain the rice well before layering it in the dish. Rice left wet with excess cooking water dilutes the milk and egg mixture, which can lead to a loose, watery custard that does not set properly.
Swap the nutmeg
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rice, milk, egg, sugar):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegthe original
- Turmericfits less well
- Gingerfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against rice, milk, egg, 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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