Rice Pudding

Rice pudding is typically a dessert dish in the United States, but some cultures use it as a main course, and there are various recipes. Rice likely moved out of Asia into the Middle East and then into Europe through Greece and later by way of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain and Portugal). Where rice pudding developed is really not known, but certainly China would be on any list of possibilities, although what would actually have qualified as being "rice pudding" is unclear, but maybe rice with some spices and perhaps some sweetener? After all, rice pudding is generally a simple dish. Cinnamon is one of the common spices used in many countries for rice pudding, as well as nutmeg sometimes, and on the Indian subcontinent cardamom is also often used. Some people make rice pudding by cooking the rice in water, while elsewhere the rice is cooked in milk, as in German speaking countries, where the dish is literally called "Milchreis" ("milk rice"), and it is usually topped with sugar and cinnamon. On Puerto Rico coconut milk is part of the recipe.*    

Ingredients:

1 cup white rice
1/4 to 1/3 cup sugar
1 cup cream
2 cups milk **
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
bare pinch of salt
(optional) 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
(optional) 1/3 cup raisins 
some sugar and cinnamon for garnish on each serving

In a sauce pan, add the rice, sugar and salt, then add the milk, cream and vanilla. Mix well and place over medium heat for just a couple of minutes (DO NOT BOIL), then reduce heat to low or very low (you can continue reducing the heat as the rice cooks, if you prefer), cover and cook until the rice is tender, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking (because this is cooking with milk and cream, and not with water, it can stick easily). (Optional) If you'd like, you can stir in 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon and/or 1/3 cup of raisins; otherwise, just top each serving with some sugar and a little cinnamon. This can be served warm or chilled. If chilled, you can serve it with whipped cream, which is common in the United States.

* For Puerto Rican rice pudding; that is, Arroz con Dulce, here is the link: https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2016/04/puerto-rican-rice-pudding-arroz-con.html

** I use 1 cup of evaporated (canned) milk and 1 cup of regular milk, but if you use evaporated milk, the rice will not be completely white, if that matters to you. 

WORD HISTORY:
Hornet-This word is related to "horn," and it goes back to Indo European "k(h)er," which meant, "horn, head." This seems to have developed only in West Germanic, as "hurznuto," meaning, "hornet."^ This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "hyrnet/hyrnetu," with the same meaning and this then became "hornet." The other West Germanic languages have: German "Hornisse," Low German "Hoornk," Dutch "hoornaar." I could not find a form in Frisian, although presumably there once was such a form, and the North Frisian dialect has "horn" and the West Frisian dialect has "hoarn," both meaning "horn," the base of the word "hornet."     

^ Apparently from the antennae, but there is some speculation that it is from the buzzing sound and its connection to "horn," the instrument, which literally were animal horns in ancient times, and some Germanic forms of long ago did use. I favor the antennae idea.