You Do NOT Want it to Curdle

Making this low fodmap left over rice pudding has been a lesson in humility. I breezed through the recipe, so sure it was no big deal to make rice pudding with leftover rice compared to regular rice pudding that calls for constant stirring and paying attention. Guess what? Using cooked rice for rice pudding requires the same careful attention, it just doesn’t take as long.

Why Did My First Try Curdle???

After I bragged about how simple my recipe was – just combine all the ingredients and throw them in the slow cooker for 2 hours – I ended up with a curdled mess. During the two hour cooking time, my milk, eggs, rice mixture curdled in the slow cooker and I had to throw the whole thing out.

I had one cup of cooked rice left and I was determined to find out what I did wrong before I tried to make another batch. Actually, it was the recipe that was wrong. You cannot just combine milk, eggs, raisins and cooked rice in a slow cooker and leave it because the eggs will curdle. Here is a better way to make rice pudding using leftover rice. And I did eliminate using eggs. It still comes out creamy and nothing curdles.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup cooked long grain rice

1 cup milk (I use 2%) or substitute rice, soy, almond or almond/coconut blend

1/4 cup extra milk to thin pudding, if necessary, as you stir and cook it

1/8 to1/4 cup white sugar, brown sugar or maple syrup

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp cinnamon

pinch of salt

1/8 cup raisins or if you prefer, dried cranberries

DIRECTIONS

Yes, making low fodmap leftover rice pudding with cooked rice is a simple endeavor, but it must be done right. Here are my tips for creamy rice pudding that won’t curdle, and is creamy and delicious.

In a bowl, place equal parts of cooked rice and milk. I used one cup of cooked rice to one cup of 2% milk. I kept half a cup of milk near my pudding pot and added extra when the rice seemed to be getting too thick.
To the bowl, now add 1/3 cup of white sugar or less depending on how sweet or not sweet you prefer. Different amounts of sugar or other sweetener does not affect the outcome. Add a pinch of salt if you wish. I don’t add vanilla, raisins, or cinnamon until the end because I am not sure what caused the curdling – the eggs, the raisins or the cinnamon. Better to be safe than sorry and add those three elements after the pudding is finished cooking.
Keep your heat on medium or medium low. In a medium bowl, stir the rice, milk and sugar together, and pour the mixture into a heavy 2 quart saucepan. I use a heavy, enameled saucepan that is perfect for heating milk.
Bring the rice and milk to a soft boil, stirring the entire time. When the mixture comes to a boil, lower the heat and continue to stir for 15 minutes. As the pudding thickens you can add a little more milk, continuing to stir until the mixture is creamy and thickened. Take it off the heat, and pour the pudding into a bowl. Stir in the vanilla, and, if you wish, sprinkle with cinnamon. You can also add 1/8 to 1/4 cup raisins depending on how many you want in your pudding, and if the pudding becomes thicker than you like it, just add a bit more milk..
Cover the pudding and leave it out on the counter until it cools. You can serve it at room temperature or chill it in the refrigerator, but chilling seems to destroy its creaminess, so I leave it out until serving time.

Add cinnamon, raisins, and vanilla at the end. — Add cinnamon, raisins and vanilla at the end

Stir rice, milk and sugar on medium low until thickened — Stir rice, milk and sugar on low until thickened

It is embarrassing how simple this pudding is to make, yet I had to make it twice. Nevertheless, I finally ended up with the pudding I wanted – warm, comforting, creamy, sweet – everything a weekday dessert should be. Top it with fresh whipped cream and it is good enough for company. Sadly, this pudding is a one day event. The next day, it separated and lost its creaminess, so eat it up the day you make it.