Why it works: Lemon and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,318 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. 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).
Line patty pans with medium short pastry and prick the bottoms.
Make the filling
Mix the ground rice with a little cold milk.
Boil the remaining milk, then add butter and sugar; boil for 10 minutes while stirring.
Let the mixture cool, then add eggs, grated lemon peel, candied peel, and half the currants.
Fill and top
Pour the mixture into the pastry, leaving room for rising.
Top with remaining currants and a sprinkle of nutmeg, cinnamon, or more grated peel if desired.
Optionally, add lemon juice and adjust milk quantity.
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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Lemon + nutmegtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,318 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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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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Rice + lemontop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,366 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Ground rice
- Thickens the milk as it boils, giving the pudding its body and a soft set.
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base that the rice swells in and the eggs set.
- Eggs
- Set the custard when baked, binding the filling and adding richness.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a smooth, rich texture and mouthfeel.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the pudding and balances the richness of the butter and eggs.
- Currants
- Add concentrated sweetness and chewy fruit pieces throughout the pudding.
The step that matters
Cool the mixture before adding the eggs. Eggs added to very hot milk can scramble and curdle, leaving a grainy texture instead of a smooth custard. Letting the boiled mixture cool first lets the eggs blend in evenly and set gently when baked.
Swap the nutmeg
The recipe marks nutmeg as optional. How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rice, milk, lemon, butter, sugar, egg, currant):
- Cinnamonfits better
- Nutmegthe original
- Parsleyfits less well
- Gingerfits less well
Fit is the average pairing score against rice, milk, lemon, butter, sugar, egg, currant. 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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