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 ↓
Lemon Rice Pudding
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.
Make the pudding
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
In a bowl, mix the boiled rice with the egg yolks, milk, lemon zest, and ½ cup of sugar.
Pour the mixture into a baking dish and bake until set.
Make the meringue and finish
In another bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Gradually add the lemon juice and remaining 1 cup of sugar to the egg whites, continuing to beat until glossy.
Spread the meringue over the baked pudding and brown it in the oven.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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 + lemontop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,366 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
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Milk + lemontop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,053 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Lemon + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together53,532 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Lemon and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 53,532 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
- Boiled rice
- Forms the body of the pudding and absorbs milk to give a soft, spoonable texture.
- Egg yolks
- Enrich the custard and help it set into a tender, creamy base.
- Egg whites
- Whipped into a stable foam that forms the meringue topping.
- Milk
- Provides liquid and richness, letting the rice soften and the custard set.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the pudding and stabilises the whipped egg white meringue.
- Lemon
- Zest adds aroma and juice adds acidity that brightens the sweetness.
The step that matters
Beating the meringue until glossy. Egg whites must reach stiff peaks before sugar is fully incorporated; under-beaten or greasy whites will not hold their shape or brown well, and sugar added too early or too fast can leave them weeping or collapsing.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rice, milk, egg, sugar):
- Vanillafits better
- Coconutfits better
- Figfits about as well
- Lemonthe original
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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