Why it works: Orange and lemon match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 10,634 recipes. Both carry 3-hexenal, which smells apple, fruity. The science ↓
Timbales of Apples in Rice
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a slow oven”. The 300°F (150°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the rice base
Combine rice, milk, salt, sugar, and orange rind in a stewpan.
Simmer for 30 minutes until milk is absorbed.
Pour out to cool.
Make the syrup and apple filling
Make a syrup with sugar and lemon juice.
Slice apples and stew until pulpy.
Beat in egg yolks and simmer for 2-3 minutes.
Cool.
Shape, bake and serve
Mould rice into small cups on a buttered tin.
Brush outside with whisked egg whites mixed with powdered sugar.
Fill rice cups with apple mixture, pour over sugar and egg.
Bake at 300°F (150°C) for 15 minutes.
Serve hot.
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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Orange + lemontop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together10,634 recipes
Shared aroma: 3-hexenal (apple, fruity).
-
Sugar + syruptop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together5,842 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Rice + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,374 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Orange + appletop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,230 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Milk + appletop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,104 recipes
Shared aroma: 4-heptenal (creamy, biscuit).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Rice
- Forms the cooked base that holds the cup shape when moulded.
- Milk
- Cooks with the rice to give a soft, creamy texture.
- Apples
- Stewed to a pulp, they supply moisture and fruity sweetness to the filling.
- Egg yolks
- Beaten into the apple mixture and cooked gently, they thicken it and add richness.
- Egg whites
- Whisked and brushed on the outside, they form a light coating that sets and browns in the oven.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the rice, the syrup and the coating, and aids browning.
The step that matters
Simmering the rice in milk. Rice must cook slowly in milk until the liquid is absorbed; if it is too hot or stirred poorly it can scorch or stay grainy, and cooling it fully is needed so it holds its shape when moulded.
Swap the apple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rice, milk, sugar, orange, syrup, lemon, egg):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Blueberryfits better
- Applethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against rice, milk, sugar, orange, syrup, lemon, egg. 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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