Why it works: Butter and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 27,232 recipes. Both carry delta-decalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
A French Rice Pudding, or Gateau De Riz
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.
Cook the rice
In a pot, gently swell the rice in the milk or milk and cream until tender.
Add the butter, sugar, salt, and lemon rind, and simmer until the rice is fully swollen.
Remove from heat, let cool slightly, and stir in the egg yolks gradually.
Prepare the pan
Coat a small saucepan with clarified butter, then drain off excess.
Sprinkle stale bread crumbs over the buttered pan, shaking off any excess.
Assemble and bake
Whisk the egg whites until stiff, then gently fold them into the rice mixture.
Pour the mixture into the prepared pan without disturbing the bread crumbs.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) for 1 hour until browned and firm.
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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Butter + breadtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together27,232 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-decalactone (sweet, creamy).
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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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Milk + ricetop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,374 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Milk + breadtop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together11,466 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-undecenal (sweet).
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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
- Carolina rice
- Swells and softens in the milk, giving the pudding its body.
- Milk
- Cooks the rice and provides the liquid that gives the pudding its creamy moisture.
- Egg yolks
- Enrich the pudding and help it set as it bakes.
- Fresh butter
- Adds richness and a soft, tender mouthfeel.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the pudding and helps it brown in the oven.
The step that matters
Stir in the egg yolks gradually. Add the egg yolks after the rice has cooled slightly and stir them in gradually. Adding them to a very hot mixture all at once can scramble them, while gradual stirring blends them smoothly so the pudding sets evenly in the oven.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, rice, butter, sugar, egg, bread):
- Vanillafits better
- Coconutfits better
- Figfits better
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, rice, butter, sugar, egg, bread. 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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