Why it works: Apple and rice are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,311 recipes. Both carry trans-2-nonenal, which smells cardboard, fatty. The science ↓
Apple- And-rice Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the filling
Boil the apples and sugar together until they form a smooth pulp, stirring often to prevent burning.
Mix in the boiled rice, butter, and eggs while the mixture is still warm.
If the apples are very acidic, add more sugar and lemon rind or juice to taste.
Bake
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes.
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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Apple + ricetop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,311 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Apple + buttertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together8,706 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Rice + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,645 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Sugar + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Pudding apples
- Break down into a smooth pulp that forms the body of the pudding.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the pulp and helps it thicken as the apples cook down.
- Boiled rice
- Adds body and a soft, starchy texture to the pudding.
- Butter
- Adds fat for richness and a smoother, more tender crumb.
- Eggs
- Set during baking to bind the mixture into a firm, sliceable pudding.
The step that matters
Stirring the apple and sugar mixture while it boils. Sugar-rich mixtures scorch easily on the bottom of the pan, and burnt flavour carries into the whole pudding. Frequent stirring keeps heat even and the pulp smooth.
Swap the apple
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, rice, butter, egg):
- Vanillafits better
- Coconutfits better
- Lemonfits better
- Applethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, rice, butter, 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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