Rice pudding

Rice pudding

Risalamande being served during the traditional Scandinavian Christmas meal
Alternative names	Arroz con leche, Riz au lait, Kheer
Type	Pudding
Main ingredients	Rice, water or milk

Rice pudding is a dish made from rice mixed with water or milk and other ingredients such as cinnamon and raisins. Different variants are used for either desserts or dinners. When used as a dessert, it is commonly combined with a sweetener such as sugar. Such desserts are found on many continents, especially Asia where rice is a staple.

Rice puddings are found in nearly every area of the world. Recipes can greatly vary even within a single country. The dessert can be boiled or baked. Different types of pudding vary depending on preparation methods and the ingredients selected. The following ingredients are usually found in rice puddings:

The following is a list of various rice puddings grouped by place of origin.

Many dishes resembling rice pudding can be found in Southeast Asia, many of which have Chinese influences. Owing to Chinese usage, they are almost never referred to as rice pudding by the local populations (whether ethnic Chinese origin or not) but instead called sweet rice porridge. The term "pudding" in various modern East Asian languages denotes a cornstarch or gelatin-based jelly-like set dessert, such as mango pudding. The rice pudding dishes that follow are explicitly referred to as such by the originating cultures.

In Canada and the United States, most recipes come from European immigrants. In the latter half of the twentieth century, Asian, Middle Eastern, and Latin American recipes have also become more common. In New England, a popular pudding is made with long grain rice, milk, sugar, or in Vermont, maple syrup. This may be combined with nutmeg, cinnamon, and/or raisins. The pudding is usually partially cooked on top of the stove in a double boiler, and then "finished" in an oven.

In the Nordic countries, rice porridge is a common breakfast, and sometimes dinner. It is made as a warm dish from rice cooked in milk. When served, it is commonly sprinkled with cinnamon, sugar and a small knob of butter, and served with milk or fruit juice. In Iceland, it is sometimes served with cold slátur, a type of liver sausage. In different languages it is called risengrød (Danish), risengrynsgrøt (Norwegian), risgrynsgröt (Swedish), riisipuuro (Finnish), grjónagrautur, hrísgrautur or hrísgrjónagrautur (Icelandic), and rísgreytur (Faroese).