Why it works: Cinnamon and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,917 recipes. Both carry estragole, which smells anise, licorice. The science ↓
Rice Puddings Baked or Boiled
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the rice
Wash and clean the rice in cold water.
In a quart stew-pan, boil the rice in cold water for 5 minutes, then drain.
Make the pudding
Add 1 quart of milk, lemon peel, and cinnamon to the rice and boil gently until the rice is tender, about 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes.
Remove from heat and stir in 1½ ounces of butter.
Beat 3 eggs with ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg and 2 ounces of sugar, then mix into the pudding until smooth.
Bake and serve
Line a pie dish with puff paste, notch the edges, and pour in the pudding.
Bake in a 400°F (200°C) oven for 45 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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Cinnamon + nutmegtop 1% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,917 recipes
Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).
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Rice + cinnamontop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,137 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
-
Lemon + nutmegtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,318 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Lemon + cinnamontop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together7,950 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-phellandrene (minty, terpene).
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Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Rice
- Provides the starch and body that thicken the pudding as it simmers in milk.
- Milk
- Supplies the liquid that the rice absorbs and the base that sets into a custard.
- Eggs
- Set during baking to bind the pudding into a creamy, sliceable custard.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a smooth mouthfeel to the pudding.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the pudding and contributes to browning on the surface.
The step that matters
Simmering the rice in milk. Stirring regularly and keeping the heat gentle prevents the milk from scorching on the pan base and helps the rice cook evenly until tender and creamy. Cooking too hard can burn the milk and make the texture uneven.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rice, milk, cinnamon, butter, egg, nutmeg, sugar):
- Vanillafits better
- Coconutfits about as well
- Raisinfits about as well
- Lemonthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against rice, milk, cinnamon, butter, egg, nutmeg, 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.
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