Rice Pudding. What's Not to Like?

Rice, Milk, Sugar…

My first memory of rice pudding is the big metal baking trays the dinner ladies stood behind, armed with dangerously large spoons. If you were lucky enough to be near the front you could witness them breaking through the thick, mottled, brown skin that covered the creamy rice below.

It’s true that the flavour never quite delivered on the expectations conjured up by the sight of that unctious dessert being dolloped into your bowl, but I still loved the skin and the stodginess of the rice below. Other kids were quite clearly not so pleased to see this dessert on the menu, in fact, few dishes seemed to bring out as much fear as the appearance of the words “Rice Pudding” on the little blue chalk board. Fear, because in those days you had to have at least a small portion and you couldn’t leave the table until you’d finished. Barbaric in today’s money I know.

But I am still confounded by the revulsion and am even more bewildered by the number of these kids who have brought their loathing of this pudding into their adult lives and who still recoil at the very mention of the dish. How can a dish made up of rice, milk and sugar impart such disgust?

£1.60 from Tesco

Rice probably became available in the UK around the 11th Century but it likely took a few hundred years longer before becoming a widespread staple. Unsurprisingly, rice puddings and porridges are eaten the world over - in Turkey they have Sütlaç, while one of India’s most popular desserts is Rice Kheer. Kheer is made from rice, milk and sugar often with additions such as ghee, cardamom, saffron, dried fruits or nuts.

In an era where convenience is king I am surprised that more people aren’t enjoying this pud. So simple to make and easy to re-heat. Even this tinned version boasts a list of clean ingredients. Just as I love cold custard I can eat this straight from the tin too.

The tin offers a fairly quick and harmless pudding, nice for a refuel after some exercise and you can easily pimp it up. But I do prefer to make my own:

Homemade Rice Pudding

• 150g Arborio Rice

• 10g Butter

• 1 tsp Cinnamon

• 1½ tbsp Dark Brown Sugar

• 600g Whole Milk

• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract

• ¼ tsp Fine Sea Salt

Hob Method:

1. Add butter and rice to a saucepan on a medium heat.

2. Coat the rice in melted butter.

3. Add salt, cinnamon, brown sugar and vanilla.

4. Add milk gradually.

5. Stir until rice is cooked (20 mins)

Or with much the same ingredients you can bake it which takes longer but is less labour-intensive. I would just recommend using less rice for the baked version as the long cooking time can really dry it out - say 100g instead of 150g.

Oven Method:

1. Heat the oven to about 170°C fan.

2. Use the butter to grease a 750 ml ovenproof dish, about 4 cm deep.

3. Mix all the ingreients in a bowl and transfer to the dish.

4. Cover with foil and bake for around 1½ hours.

5. Remove the foil and bake for a further 30 minutes to form the mottled brown skin.

I guarantee this will taste amazing - nothing like the rice pudding from school and you can pimp it up with homemade jam, fresh fruit, dried fruit, spices, honey, maple syrup, nuts, chocolate, ice cream. Don’t be scared, banish those childhood memories and stop missing out on a classic pud!