Why it works: Cinnamon and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,917 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Ground Rice Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a bowl, mix the ground rice, candied peel, sweet almonds, pounded spices, grated nutmeg, and sugar.
Moisten the mixture with the egg and rum, and mix well.
Bake and serve
Butter a mold and pour in the pudding mixture.
Bake for 45 minutes, then stick pieces of almonds thickly on top.
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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Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Clove + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together14,189 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl cinnamate (sweet, balsamic).
-
Clove + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together8,686 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
-
Almond + cinnamontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together3,514 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
-
Almond + nutmegtop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,115 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Ground rice
- Forms the bulk of the pudding and gives it a soft, set body as it bakes.
- Egg
- Binds the mixture and helps it set into a firm, sliceable pudding when baked.
- Powdered sweet almonds
- Adds richness and a nutty flavour, and moisture from the ground nuts softens the crumb.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the pudding and helps brown the surface during baking.
- Candied peel
- Adds concentrated citrus sweetness and aromatic bitterness throughout the pudding.
- Rum
- Moistens the mixture and adds aroma that carries the spices.
The step that matters
Moistening the mixture with the egg and rum. The liquid must be mixed in evenly so the ground rice hydrates and the egg sets uniformly; uneven mixing leaves dry pockets or wet patches in the baked pudding.
Swap the almond
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rice, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, egg, rum):
- Almondthe original
- Chestnutfits about as well
- Pistachiofits less well
- Walnutfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against rice, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, egg, rum. 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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