Name: Rice Boiled with Broth
Ingredients: 1 pound of rice; plenty of cold water; broth (enough to cover the rice 1.5 times its depth); coarse sea salt (to taste); 6 ounces of butter (cut into small pieces); a pinch of nutmeg

Why it works: Rice and nutmeg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,779 recipes. Both carry 4'-methylacetophenone, which smells bitter almond. The science ↓

Rice Boiled with Broth

Ingredients

1 pound of rice
plenty of cold water
broth (enough to cover the rice 1.5 times its depth)
coarse sea salt (to taste)
6 ounces of butter (cut into small pieces)
a pinch of nutmeg

Directions

Prepare the rice

Wash the rice in cold water, then drain it.
Put the rice into a saucepan with plenty of cold water and bring to a boil for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Immerse the rice in cold water and drain it dry.

Cook in broth

Return the rice to a saucepan and moisten with broth to cover it 1.5 times its depth.
Season with salt, cover, and bring to a boil.
Once boiling, reduce heat and let it simmer slowly for 20 minutes until the rice is cooked dry.
Add the butter and nutmeg, mixing gently with a wooden spoon.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Rice + nutmegtop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,779 recipes

Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Rice + buttertop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together9,645 recipes

Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Butter + nutmegtop 16% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together24,377 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

Rice: Forms the body of the dish; its starch sets as it cooks and absorbs the broth.
Broth: Supplies the cooking liquid and flavour that the rice absorbs as it simmers.
Butter: Adds fat and richness, giving the rice a smooth, glossy finish.

The step that matters

Simmering until cooked dry. Simmering gently over low heat lets the rice absorb the broth evenly without scorching on the base. Stopping at the right moment keeps the grains tender and separate rather than soggy or burnt.

Swap the nutmeg

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rice, butter):

Cinnamonfits better
Turmericfits about as well
Nutmegthe original
Parsleyfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against rice, butter. 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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Rice Boiled with Broth