Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓
Rice Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Make the pudding
Cook rice with salt in water until well done.
Add milk and cook until thickened.
Stir in beaten egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla.
Top and bake
Spread beaten egg whites mixed with sugar on top.
Bake at 350°F (175°C) until delicately brown.
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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Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Rice + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,374 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Rice + vanillatop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,352 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Rice
- Cooked until very soft, it forms the body and bulk of the pudding.
- Milk
- Cooked down with the rice, it becomes the creamy liquid that thickens into the pudding.
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the custard as they set and add richness and a smooth texture.
- Egg whites
- Whipped and spread on top, they set into a light topping that browns in the oven.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the pudding and, in the meringue, helps the whites stay stable and brown.
The step that matters
Baking the meringue topping until just delicately brown. Egg whites set and brown quickly in the oven, so baking too long can dry out or toughen the topping and the pudding beneath it. Watch for a light golden colour rather than a deep brown.
“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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