Why it works: Lemon and nutmeg match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 11,318 recipes. Both carry beta-phellandrene, which smells minty, terpene. The science ↓
Ground-Rice Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Make the pudding
Boil the milk in a pot.
Stir in the ground rice, rose water, and lemon peel until thick.
Remove from heat and mix in the butter, nutmeg, egg yolks, and egg whites.
Sweeten with brown sugar.
Remove the lemon peel.
Pour into a buttered basin and fill completely.
Boil in a pot for the required time.
Serve
Serve with a sauce made from white wine, melted butter, and brown sugar.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Lemon + nutmegtop 5% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together11,318 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).
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Milk + ricetop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,374 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Rice + nutmegtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,779 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
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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
- Ground rice
- Thickens the milk into a set, creamy body as it cooks.
- Egg yolks
- Enrich the pudding and help it set firm when cooked.
- Egg whites
- Add lift and structure to the pudding as they cook.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a smooth, tender mouthfeel.
- Brown sugar
- Adds sweetness and a caramel-like depth of flavour.
The step that matters
Stir in the ground rice until thick. Ground rice must be stirred continuously over heat so its starch thickens the milk evenly; if it sits, it can clump or scorch on the bottom of the pot, and the pudding will be lumpy or have a burnt taste.
Swap the lemon
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, rice, rose, butter, nutmeg, egg, sugar):
- Vanillafits better
- Coconutfits about as well
- Lemonthe original
- Figfits about as well
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, rice, rose, butter, nutmeg, egg, 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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