Why it works: Gelatin and cream match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,628 recipes. Both carry acetic acid, which smells sour, vinegar. The science ↓
Rice Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the rice
Boil the rice in boiling salted water with the zest of the orange or lemon until tender.
Drain the rice and remove the peel.
Make the mixture
Soften the gelatin in a little cold water, then dissolve it in the hot milk with the sugar.
Mix the gelatin mixture with the rice and flavor with sherry or madeira if using.
When the mixture begins to firm, fold in the whipped cream.
Set and serve
Mold the mixture and refrigerate until set.
Garnish with whipped cream and candied orange or lemon peel, or serve with plain cream or preserved fruits.
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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Gelatin + creamtop 7% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,628 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
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Rice + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,374 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Gelatin + sugartop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,778 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Rice + orangetop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,067 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,4-nonadienal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Rice
- Cooks to a tender base that gives the cream its body and bulk.
- Gelatin
- Sets the mixture so it holds its molded shape when chilled.
- Heavy cream
- Adds richness and a light, airy texture when folded in whipped.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the dessert and balances the flavor of the milk and citrus.
- Hot milk
- Carries the dissolved gelatin and sugar and adds creaminess.
The step that matters
When the mixture begins to firm, fold in the whipped cream.. If the mixture is too liquid, the whipped cream deflates and loses its air; if it is already set, the cream will not blend evenly. Folding at the point of slight thickening keeps the texture light and uniform.
Swap the orange
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (rice, gelatin, milk, sugar, sherry, cream):
- Vanillafits better
- Strawberryfits better
- Coconutfits better
- Orangethe original
Fit is the average pairing score against rice, gelatin, milk, sugar, sherry, cream. 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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