Rice pudding is a traditional dessert with many benefits and properties. Discover its most important qualities and the popular recipe to make it at home.
Rice pudding is one of those traditional and typical desserts, very present in a great diversity of countries and cultures, which you will surely remember as a child, when your mother or grandmother made it. Not only are its flavor delicious, and its aroma floods the kitchens of many homes, especially when it is made with cinnamon and lemon peel, but also because of its very interesting qualities and nutritional benefits. As you surely know, it consists of a dessert that is made by cooking rice in milk with sugar, slowly It is usually accompanied with cinnamon, vanilla essence and/or lemon peel (to flavor it), and is served hot or cold. Depending on the place where it is made, it is common to serve it with burnt sugar on top with a cooking flame or with a hot iron, this way of making it being very common in Asturias (Spain) or in Portugal.
It is a very healthy dessert from a nutritional point of view, given that 100% natural ingredients are used exclusively in its preparation, such as milk, rice, cinnamon, vanilla and lemon peel. There is only one small objection, and that is its sugar content, although when it comes to making it, it is very common to do it without sugar and only add sweetener when serving it.
Nutritional benefits of rice pudding
Rice pudding is an extremely healthy traditional dessert, recommended as a substitute for other sweets or less healthy desserts, such as buns, donuts or industrial cakes. Especially since rice and milk are used exclusively in its preparation.
A serving of rice pudding provides the following essential nutrients:
- Energy : 395 kilocalories
- Carbohydrates: 74 gr.
- Proteins: 7.90 gr.
- Fats: 6.70 gr.
- Minerals : among which calcium (225 mg), iodine (20 mg), magnesium (33 mg), potassium (313 mg), phosphorus (49 mg), selenium (5.50 mg), zinc (1.30 mg) and iron (1 mg).
- Vitamins: among which vitamin A (76.90 µg), B vitamins such as B1 (0.09 mg), B2 (0.33 mg), B9 or folic acid (17.89 µg) and vitamin D (0.05 µg).
It is also a dessert very rich in different amino acids, among which we can mention alanine, arginine, phenylalanine, glycine, histamine, leucine, methionine, tyrosine, tryptophan, valine and threonine.
As we can see, it is a very rich dessert from a nutritional point of view, thanks to its content of both vitamins and minerals. It also provides amino acids, carbohydrates and few fats.
Properties of rice pudding
The main benefits and properties that we find in this delicious and wonderful dessert are found precisely thanks to its incredible mix of ingredients, as it is made with milk, rice and cinnamon:
- Rice: in the preparation of rice pudding, white rice is usually used above all. This is a type of rice that is characterized by containing a lower amount of fiber, compared to brown rice, but it tends to be digested much faster. It is a very energetic food ideal for maintaining both energy and vitality; it is low in fat and stands out for its content of minerals (such as magnesium, iron, zinc and selenium) and vitamins (especially from group B, such as B3, B5 and B9 or folic acid).
- Milk – Traditionally this dessert is made with whole cow’s milk. Whole milk is excellent for its high protein content, highlighting above all the presence of both casein and whey protein. It also provides carbohydrates, minerals (calcium and iron) and vitamins (vitamin A, vitamins of group B and C).
- Cinnamon: Cinnamon is a widely used flavoring agent to add a wonderful aroma to rice pudding. It has qualities to relieve heavy or difficult digestions, it is ideal in case of coughs and colds, it acts against bad breath and in turn it is carminative.
How to make rice pudding: traditional recipe:
Main ingredients
- 180g of white rice
- 1 liter of whole milk
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1 lemon rind
- Ground cinnamon
- 120 grams white sugar (optional)
Steps to make rice pudding
- Put the whole milk in a saucepan and bring it to a boil together with the cinnamon stick and the lemon rind.
- When the milk starts to boil, add the white rice all at once.
- Lower the heat and cook for 45 to 50 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom.
- After this time, remove the lemon rind and the cinnamon stick.
- If you want to sweeten with sugar now is the time to add it. Stir well to dissolve, turn off the heat and remove the saucepan.
- When cool, pour into individual cups.
