Why it works: Milk and rice 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 Soup
Ingredients
Directions
Make the soup
Boil the stock in a pot.
Add the washed rice and simmer gently for about 30 minutes, or until the rice is thoroughly cooked.
Rub the mixture through a fine sieve back into the pot.
Add the milk and bring to a boil.
Finish and serve
Beat the egg yolk with a little milk or cold stock.
Let the soup cook slightly, then pour in the egg and stir until the soup thickens.
Season to taste and serve.
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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Milk + ricetop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,374 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Pepper + ricetop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,379 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Milk + peppertop 22% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together26,984 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
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Egg + ricetop 28% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,350 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
- Rice
- Breaks down during simmering to give the soup body and a thick, smooth texture.
- Egg yolk
- Thickens the soup as it heats and adds richness and a silky texture.
- Milk
- Adds creaminess and softness to the soup's flavour and mouthfeel.
- White second stock
- Forms the liquid base that carries the flavour of the whole soup.
The step that matters
Pouring the egg into the soup. If the soup is too hot when the egg yolk goes in, the yolk can scramble instead of thickening smoothly. Letting the soup cool slightly first and stirring steadily keeps the texture silky.
“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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