Rice pudding: Grandma's recipe

SUMMARY :

The basic recipe for rice pudding
Why is my rice pudding too liquid?
How to prevent rice pudding from sticking?
How to revisit rice pudding?
Does rice pudding make you fat?
What is the origin of rice pudding?

The basic recipe for rice pudding

Ingredients

150g rice
1 liter whole milk (it’s smoother)
100g sugar
1 vanilla pod

The recipe

Pour the milk into a saucepan, add the vanilla pod split in half lengthwise and bring to a boil, watching closely.
As soon as the milk boils, pour in the rice, stir and wait for the resumption of boiling.
Lower the heat and cook for 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. The grains of rice should be wrapped in a thick, creamy milk.
Then add the sugar, mix delicately then pour into a salad bowl.
Serve warm, or cold. In this case, adhere stretch film to the surface of the rice to prevent the formation of a film. Leave to cool then place in the fridge.

Tips for success

We choose a risotto rice (arborio or carnaroli). The starch of this type of rice diffuses well in the cooking liquid, which makes it possible to obtain a creamy rice pudding with the center of the grain which remains a little firm.
Cook over low heat and stir regularly. The rice grains should not absorb all the cooking milk.
Remove the pan from the heat when the preparation is still a little liquid: the rice will continue to absorb milk as it cools and thickens.

Why is my rice pudding too liquid?

Too liquid rice pudding may be a sign of bad cooking, or a bad choice of milk. The cooking must be long and slow : if you do not cook your rice long enough, the result may still be too liquid.

Also prefer whole milk rather than semi-skimmed because it takes a minimum of fat for the rice to set. To obtain a perfect texture, chef Cyril Lignac also advises choosing round rice for a better recipe. With its high starch content, it will naturally thicken preparations.

How to prevent rice pudding from sticking?

To prevent the rice from sticking, do not allow a skin to form on the surface and do not allow the milk to boil. Stir the contents regularly with a wooden spoon.

Before starting the recipe, so that the rice pudding does not stick to the pan, rinse it with cold water, do not dry it and pour the milk directly into it.

How to revisit rice pudding?

Substitute vanilla : with a cinnamon stick, grated orange zest, grated Tonka bean, a little bitter almond aroma

Add dried fruits : raisins, dried cranberries, goji berries, diced pear…

Serve it with a coulis : chocolate, caramel or red fruits. Or topped with a regressive syrup à la violet, cotton candy, bubble gum…

A chocolate version : add 100 g of chocolate in squares to the still hot rice, and reduce the amount of sugar (75 instead of 100 g).

Does rice pudding make you fat?

A portion of 100 grams of rice pudding contains about 125 kilocalories. In comparison, products in the dessert category provide an average of 185 kilocalories. Eating a rice pudding from time to time does not make you fat.

Rice provides only slow sugars, which will, unlike fast sugars, promote weight loss. Prefer brown rice, healthier than white rice. If you want to lighten the milk, you can use a vegetable drink like almond or coconut milk.

Consuming it after sport or at breakfast in the morning would even help you lose weight. Indeed, it is a satiating and at the same time light dessert, which will allow you to recover after the activities of the day.

What is the origin of rice pudding?

If the recipe for rice pudding is well known to all, the origins of this dessert remain unclear and date back to around the 15^e and 16^e centuries. The recipe for rice pudding was found in a Dutch cookbook, called La cuisine notable. But it is a global dish, hence the difficulty of knowing where exactly it originated. “This dish is probably much older in other civilizations, and in particular in Asia or India, where rice was cooked with milk, and in which spices were added.“, indicated Olivier Poels, gastronomic columnist at European 1.

In France it is at 19^e century that rice pudding lost its status as a soup to become a dessert in its own right, flavored with vanilla, lemon or even orange blossom water. And to change from the traditional recipe, some chefs serve it either with custard or with lemon zest.