Why it works: Nutmeg and almond match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,115 recipes. Both carry eucalyptol, which smells eucalyptus, herbal. The science ↓
Ground Rice Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Make the base
In a saucepan, heat 1 quart of milk with your choice of flavoring until it boils.
Stir in ¼ pound of ground rice that has been wetted with a little cold milk.
Continue stirring until the mixture boils and thickens.
Remove the flavorings and let the mixture cool.
Finish and bake
Once cool, add 6 beaten eggs, 6 ounces of sugar, and a pinch of nutmeg.
If desired, add 2 more eggs, ¼ pound of butter, and ½ cup of brandy, along with some bitter almonds or ratafia.
For added texture, create a crust around the edge or lay a thin rich paste over the dish before pouring in the pudding.
Bake in a moderate oven (350°F / 175°C) for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
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.
-
Nutmeg + almondtop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together2,115 recipes
Shared aroma: eucalyptol (eucalyptus, herbal).
-
Rice + almondtop 6% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,456 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
-
Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Milk + ricetop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,374 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
-
Rice + nutmegtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,779 recipes
Shared aroma: 4'-methylacetophenone (bitter almond).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Milk
- Forms the liquid base that the rice cooks in and sets into a creamy custard.
- Ground rice
- Thickens the milk as it boils and gives the pudding its body.
- Eggs
- Bind the mixture and set during baking to give a firm, custardy texture.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the pudding and helps it brown lightly in the oven.
- Butter
- Adds fat for a richer, softer texture when used in the optional version.
The step that matters
Stirring the ground rice into the boiling milk. Ground rice must be wetted with cold milk first and stirred constantly as it boils, or it clumps and the pudding turns lumpy instead of smooth and thickened.
“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
The 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.
Rice Cake120 recipes
Brandy Peaches68 recipes
Rice Cream43 recipes
Rice Jelly42 recipes