Why it works: Milk and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Tender Rice Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a brisk oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the rice
Cook the rice in milk until tender.
Scrape the sugar onto the lemon rind.
Mix the sugar and lemon rind into the rice before removing from heat.
Mold and cool
Butter a tin mold.
Press the hot rice into the mold, smoothing the surface.
Let the rice cool in the mold.
If using a plain mold, dip it in hot water to loosen the pudding.
Turn out the rice.
Bake and fill
Mark a rim around the top with a knife.
Brush clarified butter over the pudding.
Bake in a brisk oven at 400°F (200°C) until golden brown.
Carefully lift the cover.
Scoop out the inside, leaving a crust about 1 inch thick.
Fill the cavity with warmed preserved fruit or a compote of plums, peaches, or apples.
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.
-
Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Rice + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,374 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Rice + lemontop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,366 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,e)-2,4-decadienal (fatty, deep fried).
-
Milk + lemontop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,053 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Rice + buttertop 16% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together9,645 recipes
Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Rice
- Forms the bulk of the pudding and sets into a firm, sliceable body as it cools.
- Milk
- Cooks with the rice to create a soft, creamy texture and moist interior.
- Fresh butter
- Adds richness and helps the outer surface brown during baking.
- Pounded sugar
- Sweetens the pudding and adds to its tender, golden surface.
- Lemon rind
- Adds fragrant citrus aroma that scents the rice.
The step that matters
Press the hot rice into the mold, smoothing the surface.. Rice that cools before being pressed in will not pack together, leaving gaps and a crumbly shape. Firm, even pressing while the starch is still warm helps the pudding hold its form when turned out.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rice, milk, butter, sugar):
- Vanillafits better
- Coconutfits better
- Peachfits better
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against rice, milk, butter, sugar. 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.
More rice pudding recipes
You might also like
Lemon Cake228 recipes
Lemon Ice147 recipes
Rice Cake120 recipes
Lemon Sherbet103 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.