Why it works: Rice and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,374 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓
Indian Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a gentle oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the rice
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
Place the washed rice in a deep dish and moisten it with milk.
Set the dish in the oven, adding more milk gradually until the rice swells and becomes tender but dry.
Mix in the sugar and cream.
Assemble and bake
Fill a tart dish with the sugared fruit, then spread the rice mixture over the top, leaving it rough.
Bake for 30 minutes, or longer if the fruit is very hard and needs pre-cooking.
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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Rice + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,374 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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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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Milk + creamtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together29,399 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
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Milk + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Rice + creamtop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,399 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonanone (fruity, floral).
Milk and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 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
- Absorbs milk and swells into a tender, starchy base that gives the pudding its body.
- Milk
- Provides the liquid that softens the rice and keeps the pudding moist as it cooks.
- Cream
- Adds richness and a smoother, softer texture through its fat content.
- Sugar
- Adds sweetness and balances the flavour of the rice and fruit.
- Fruit
- Forms the sweet base layer beneath the rice and contributes its own flavour.
The step that matters
Adding milk gradually while the rice swells. Rice absorbs liquid as it cooks, so adding milk in small amounts lets it become tender without turning soupy. Stop once it is tender but still dry enough to hold its shape, since excess liquid makes the pudding watery.
“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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