The Best Rice Pudding in the World

The Best Rice Pudding in the World (6 servings)

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup rice
2 Tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups milk (2% works okay)
1/2 envelope gelatin (about 1 teaspoon)
2/3 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons rum
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup cream, whipped

Bring 1/2 cup water to a boil in a heavy pan. Add rice and butter. Cook uncovered over medium heat until water disappears, stirring frequently. Add salt and milk. Cover and simmer over lowest heat until rice is tender and milk is absorbed, about 40-45 minutes. Dissolve gelatin in 2 T. cold water. Stir into hot rice. Add sugar and cool. Add rum and vanilla. Fold in 1 cup whipped cream. Chill an hour.

(I've put the recipe first for all of you who are googling for recipes only. This IS the best, a mousse/chiffon-like miracle of a rice pudding. My feelings about rice pudding in general, the source of this recipe, and the best place to buy a variety of rice puddings in NYC, all spun out at great writerly length, follow below).

I’m always on the verge of doing an entry on writing and the creative process, when I’m sidetracked by another holiday sweet idea. This is the time of year to stay inside, keep warm (even here in northern California it’s been frigid these past few days) and indulge in inside indulgences. And so, as I huddle inside my modest, but charming craftsman home next to the Christmas tree, my thoughts invariably turn to…rice pudding.

I love rice pudding. Actually, I adore it. There’s something about the creamy custard and faintly resistant tenderness of the rice that is pure ecstasy. I would even choose rice pudding over chocolate, if I were assured the two were of comparable quality, and that’s saying something, because chocolate, well…I don’t have to make a case for that.

I’ve tasted some pretty marvelous puddings in my day. I suppose it all began with my German grandmother’s pan of baked pudding, which was on the table at every dinner. I got a secret thrill serving myself what I considered dessert right next to the chicken, potatoes and gravy, and green beans cooked for days (or so it seemed) in ham broth. This pudding had two tiers, a dense, mildly sweet rice layer and a golden custard topping. It was equally good warm and later cold for supper. Since then my rice pudding experiences have expanded far and wide, across international boundaries. A fairly recent find is the khao niaw mamuang at the weekly Sunday lunch buffet at the Thai Temple in Berkeley. The presentation is modest, a clear plastic container with one generous cooking-spoonful of sticky white rice and one of black rice, both steeped in sweet coconut milk and topped by slices of mango. At four dollars a tray, it’s a gourmet’s bargain. And I go back for it again and again.

And then of course if you happen to be in NYC, you should try the smorgasboard of rice pudding flavors at Rice to Riches on Spring Street in Manhattan (that city does have everything, much as I hate to admit it). The best part is that they let you taste all the flavors, or as many as you can manage before you’re too embarrassed to continue and then you ask your sister who doesn’t eat sweets to pretend to taste and slip you the spoon on the sly. This past summer, my favorites were cherry mascarpone and almond schmalmond. Sex, Drugs, and Rocky Road was good, too, with a rich, dark chocolate flavor and chunks of nuts and marshmallows. Too bad they didn’t have the maple-blueberry in the summer! Rice to Riches does mail order, but they’ll only send larger tubs and it’s pricey, but if money is no object, I would highly recommend their offerings.

Homemade is best though and I’ve tried various recipes, but the one I keep coming back to year after year, usually at Christmas, is a Swedish rice pudding I discovered thirty years ago in a book I got at my local library, America’s Christmas Heritage by Ruth Cole Kainen (copyright 1969--thanks to alibris and the wonders of the internet, I own a precious copy now.) I’ve always been a bit of a cookbook freak, dating all the way back to my elementary school days. I might even love reading about food more than eating. This is not true of sex, however, although I do enjoy good writing on that topic.

No, I’m not usually one to make extravagant claims, but I have sampled many rice puddings in homes and restaurants and I’ve yet to find one that boots this recipe out of first place. It’s more like a rice mousse than a pudding thanks to gelatin and lots of whipped cream. Over the years I’ve tinkered with the recipe, so I’m including my version (which also appeared in the December 2002 issue of Sunset magazine, which was cool, except they came up with a calorie count for a dish and for all those years, I’d convinced myself it didn’t have any). I usually serve it on Christmas Eve, as is the tradition in Scandinavian countries. It’s also traditional to hide a lucky almond in one serving, which I used to do until the winter I met my future husband and I was so blissed out I couldn’t bear for just one person to have good luck, I wanted everyone to be happy. So I snuck an almond into all the bowls, and that’s become a new tradition.

So, here it is, my rice pudding recipe. It’s the best. Enjoy! I want everyone to be happy.

The Best Rice Pudding in the World (6 servings)

1/2 cup water
1/2 cup rice
2 Tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 cups milk (2% works okay)
1/2 envelope gelatin
2/3 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons rum
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup cream, whipped

Bring 1/2 cup water to a boil in a heavy pan (this burns easily). Add rice and butter. Cook uncovered over medium heat until water disappears, stirring frequently. Add salt and milk. Cover and simmer over lowest heat until rice is tender and milk is absorbed, about 40-45 minutes. Dissolve gelatin in 2 T. cold water. Stir into hot rice. Add sugar and cool. Add rum and vanilla. Fold in 1 cup whipped cream. Chill an hour.