From the Kitchens of Bunny and Brandy: Salted Caramel Rice Pudding with The Real Co. Products

With all the fuss lately about Fair Trade coffee and chocolate, it does seem as if things are headed the way of full transparency, but there is still quite a ways to go for a plethora of other every day food stuffs. Brandy, for one, has always been a big proponent of knowing exactly where her food comes from. "If I didn't pull the thing out of the ground myself, I like to know exactly who did and how many people have been between me and that person," as she likes to say.

Recently, Brandy came across The Real Co, a company which calls itself the first single origin global food company, and believes that “good comes from good.” They are a pioneer in 100% single origin food products, currently having three products hitting market nationally online and in stores – Basmati Rice, Himalayan Pink Rock Salt and Organic Raw Cane Sugar. All of these are sustainably harvested from either a single farm or family with every bit of their production being traced back to their exact origins, which is shared on every package of food bearing The Real Co name. Every food item also has the Non-GMO Project Verified seal.

The business model for the The Real Co was founded on a direct farm-to-market delivery system, which offers farms distribution to the U.S., cutting out the middleman, and offering both retailers and stores great natural food products at low costs. Consumers can purchase online on www.amazon.com or www.healthygoodness.com. Visit the Real Co website at http://TheReal.co

With such high quality, simple ingredients, Brandy knew she had to put them to good use. As the sugar was raw and unrefined, it had a natural golden brown hue, which Brandy supposed could make for a lovely caramel, only made better by the addition of a bit of the delicate pink salt. "But what to do with such a caramel?' Brandy posited, and one glance at the Basmati Rice gave her an answer. A little experimentation later and Brandy had a fine, deeply flavored Salted Caramel Rice Pudding that she felt was worthy of the humble, noble origins of the ingredients from The Real Co.

The writers of this blog were provided with products from The Real Co. in order to facilitate the writing of this post.

Salted Caramel Rice Pudding

3 cups of whole milk
2 egg yolks
1 cup of Basmati Rice
1/2 cup of sugar
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
1/2 teaspoon of salt



For the Sauce:
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of cream
1 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of butter

Pour the milk into a medium sauce pan and add the egg yolks, sugar, salt, and vanilla, then mix well. Once combined, put on a medium heat until the liquid begins to steam and bubble at the sides of the pan, then add the rice, stir, and turn down the heat to medium low. Cover the pot and continue to cook for 20-30 minutes, stirring often, or until the rice has achieved your desired softness and most of the liquid has been absorbed.

For the caramel sauce, heat the sugar in a medium saute pan over a medium flame until it begins to melt and clump together. Slowly add the cream a few tablespoons at a time and leave the mixture to melt together (the sugar will seize up at first and then melt back down again as you add more cream). Add the salt once most of the sugar is melted and stir with a rubber spatula to distribute. Turn off the heat and add the butter to the center of the pan, folding the caramel around it until it has completely melt and been incorporated into the sauce.

Both the pudding and sauce can be eaten hot or cold. Suggested serving: put about a cup of the pudding into small ramekins and top with a tablespoon of caramel. Serves 4-6