Rice Pudding

I am in dire need of a good rice pudding recipe.

Since my Mother died [her secret recipe went with her], I haven't had a good rice pudding in over 20 years!



Can somebody help me!?!

Please?

I'm knee deep in trying to get a computer working so no time to search and write, but if no-one has helped you out by late tonight/early tomorrow, I'll give you my killer Saffron-Coconut kheer recipe.

It might already be in the old FLDG archives- take a look.

I'm dieing here....!

I'm knee deep in trying to get a computer working so no time to search and write, but if no-one has helped you out by late tonight/early tomorrow, I'll give you my killer Saffron-Coconut kheer recipe.

It might already be in the old FLDG archives- take a look.

No disrespect intended, but my Mom never used Saffron or coconut.


I'm looking for a rice pudding with a cinnamon edge and nutmeg topping.

[Jenise]

Rice pudding sucks.

Tim: Try it, you might like it better!

Jenise: I speculate some rice-pudding trauma underlies your reversion to the language of so many online restaurant comments (elsewhere summarized IRIS: It Rocks / It Sucks). If we plumbed the depths of starch-thickened desserts I bet we could do worse.*


* “I think it’s Mary’s blancmange that is so frightfully depressing. It’s like something out of a mortuary.” [Agatha Christie, The Murder at the Vicarage, 1930. From a food-quotations file.]

[Jenise]

Max, actually, I was just chirping Tim's language back at him. But it's true, I don't care categorically for the texture that is pudding, and childhood trauma was involved in acquiring that aversion.

Rice pudding with a cinnamon edge and nutmeg topping sucks more.

Tim, neither Janet nor I cared much for rice pudding until we took a trip to India. We found a number of variations that were delicious; here's one from our guide that I've made several times, always with kudos from my customer:

INGREDIENTS:

* 2 pints full-cream milk
* 8 ounces condensed milk
* 1 tsp cardamom powder
* 1 cup sugar [one half cup here]
* 1 cup Basmati rice
* Two TBS almonds blanched and slivered
* Two TBS raisins
* A few strands of saffron [optional -- the few strands give color but little taste]
* Rose petals to garnish (optional; but not optional here)

PREPARATION:

* Wash the rice well and soak for half an hour.
* Boil milk, condensed milk and sugar in a deep, thick-bottomed pan. When the milk comes to a boil, add the rice and simmer until the milk thickens and reduces to half its original volume.
* Add the almonds, raisins and cardamom and cook for 5 more minutes.
* Turn off the fire and add the saffron. Stir well.
* Allow the kheer to cool, then chill.
* Serve cold garnished with rose petals.


***

This is the Fanny Farmer version I grew up with and learned to detest:

4 cups milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup rice
1/3 cup sugar
Grated rind 1/2 lemon
Cinnamon and nutmeg to taste.

Wash rice, mix ingredients, and pour into buttered pudding-dish; bake three hours in very slow oven, stirring three times during first hour of baking to prevent rice from settling.

Serve [or feed to Clive in our house] cold.

Jenise: I speculate some rice-pudding trauma underlies your reversion to the language of so many online restaurant comments (elsewhere summarized IRIS: It Rocks / It Sucks). If we plumbed the depths of starch-thickened desserts I bet we could do worse.*

Gee Jenise - what do you have to say about tapioca (aka 'fisheye') pudding ......

I really made a promise to myself to stay out of this fray, but this is the second thread in the last two days that has made me quite sad. One I can ignore, but two instances are a trend I don't care to see continue in a place I've become quite comfortable over the last year or two.. I really don't care who said/posted what, when. In fact, the chat thread over on Friends and Fun should embarass more than just Tim.
Folks, take it off-line or better yet, get over it and move on.
Redwinger-who waited 3 minutes before hitting the submit button

Rice pudding sucks.

And I absolutely love the stuff ... as I do all sweet and starchy things ... and I look like it, too. I guess the wedding off then!?

How about Shirin Polow? It's rice, it's sweet, but it's not pudding.

[Jenise]

Jenise: I speculate some rice-pudding trauma underlies your reversion to the language of so many online restaurant comments (elsewhere summarized IRIS: It Rocks / It Sucks). If we plumbed the depths of starch-thickened desserts I bet we could do worse.*

Gee Jenise - what do you have to say about tapioca (aka 'fisheye') pudding ......

Exactly. The. Same.

Personally, I like rice pudding. Even the Fanny Farmer version that Bob Posted, but I like raisins in it, especially raisins that have been soaked in rum. In fact, rum soaked raisins are great when mixed in apple pie.

Tim, it's rice pudding. How hard can it be, dude?

rwj

The Betty Crocker mix should work well for someone seeking familiarity and comfort rather than adventure and interest. Just follow the instructions on the back of the box.

[Robin Garr]

The Betty Crocker mix should work well for someone seeking familiarity and comfort rather than adventure and interest. Just follow the instructions on the back of the box.

Doesn't rice pudding come in cans? This would probably be simpler still, and just as nostalgic, for one who really misses the dessert that Mom used to make. Just poke a hole in one end, blast it in the microwave, and you're good to go.

An interesting suggestion, Stuart; I'm not sure there still is a Betty Crocker Rice Pudding mix, but they post a slow cooker version which certainly has a comfort level:

http://www.bettycrocker.com/Recipes/Rec ... peId=36023

Regards, Bob

[Jenise]

Doesn't rice pudding come in cans? This would probably be simpler still, and just as nostalgic, for one who really misses the dessert that Mom used to make.

At the very least it comes in little single serving jars. I believe Gerber makes one....

Robin, it would be an interesting experiment for you to try microwaving a can. We are indeed standing on the foreskin of science.

[Robin Garr]

Robin, it would be an interesting experiment for you to try microwaving a can.

It was just a riff, based on the old Carnation jingle.

We are indeed standing on the foreskin of science.

Tim, a couple more thoughts on rice pudding -- none of which really haven't shaken our preference for the Indian version I mentioned above, but there are a couple of interesting points in the Cook's Illustrated piece:

Simple Stovetop Rice Pudding

Highlight the rice by cooking it in water first and eliminating extra ingredients.

The Problem: At its best, rice pudding is simple, lightly sweet, and tastes of its primary component, rice. At its worst, the rice flavor is lost to cloying sweetness, condensed dairy, and a pasty, leaden consistency.

The Goal: We embarked on the pursuit of a really wonderful rice pudding. The qualities of the ideal candidate would be intact, tender grains bound loosely in a subtly sweet, milky sauce. We were looking for a straightforward stovetop rice pudding, in which both the texture and flavor of the primary ingredient would stand out.

The Solution: We found that cooking the rice in milk or cream obscured the rice flavor, while a cooking medium of water emphasized it. The most appealing balance of rice flavor and satisfying, but not too rich, consistency derived from cooking the rice in 2 cups of water until it was all absorbed, then adding equal parts of whole milk and half-and-half to make the pudding. We had the best results from cooking the rice and water in a covered pot first, followed by simmering the cooked rice uncovered in the dairy mixture.


Simple Stovetop Rice Pudding
We prefer pudding made from medium-grain rice, but long-grain is perfectly acceptable if that’s what you happen to have on hand.


Serves 6 to 8
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1 cup medium-grain rice (white), or long grain white rice
2 1/2 cups whole milk
2 1/2 cups half-and-half
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Bring 2 cups water to boil in large, heavy-bottomed pot (at least 3 quarts) or small soup kettle (4 to 5 quarts). Stir in salt and rice; cover and simmer over low heat, stirring once or twice until water is almost fully absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes.

2. Add milk, half-and-half and sugar. Increase heat to medium-high to bring to simmer, then reduce heat to maintain simmer. Cook uncovered, stirring frequently, until mixture starts to thicken, about 30 minutes. Reduce heat to low and continue to cook, stirring every couple of minutes to prevent sticking and scorching, until a spoon is just able to stand up in the pudding, about 15 minutes longer.

3. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract. Cool and serve at room temperature or chilled. (Can be covered with plastic wrap on surface of pudding and then refrigerated up to 2 days.)


***



And while I looked through my notes, I found this delicious pudding from Paul Peck's cookbook -- simple and reliable and quick. This note is from Bittman in the Times a few years ago:


Like all cookbook authors, her work was imperfect: Ms. Peck was strangely enamored of MSG. But I can understand this. She was looking to add umami, the so-called fifth taste, to every dish she could. (Parmesan addiction is a similar phenomenon.) But most of her work holds up. And she was one of the original minimalists. Check out this dessert, which takes about three minutes to make and -- especially when prepared with the ricotta you can buy these days --is magical.

RICOTTA PUDDING
Adapted from Paula Peck
Time: 5 minutes, plus time to chill

1 pound fresh ricotta, drained if very moist
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar, or more to taste
3 tablespoons coffee liqueur, or to taste
Powdered unsweetened cocoa for garnish.

In a bowl, beat together the ricotta and sugar, then add liqueur. Taste and add more sugar or liqueur as desired. Divide among 6 glass ramekins or other small bowls and refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve, dusted with a little powdered cocoa.