ESN Designer Rice Pudding

What is ESN Designer Rice Pudding?

ESN Designer Rice Pudding is an instant rice semolina, to be prepared as a porridge with hot water. Per 100 g of powder it provides 1,582 kJ / 373 kcal, 83 g of carbohydrate of which 0 g sugars, and 7.7 g of protein. The ingredients list fits on one line: 100% instant rice semolina.

ESN — Elite Sports Nutrients — is a German brand founded in 2005, known in France for its Designer Whey range. This product belongs to its family of carbohydrate bases: simple foods, with no flavouring or additive, meant to be assembled with the rest of what you take.

What makes it distinctive is that there is nothing in it but rice. No sweetener, no flavouring, no thickener. You add whatever you like: a scoop of protein, a flavouring powder, some cinnamon, a mashed piece of fruit. That is what explains the “0 g sugars” line — there is simply nothing sweet in it. The rest of the brand can be browsed in our ESN France aisle, and the other bases of this type in our cream of rice aisle.

What does Designer Rice Pudding contain?

83 g of carbohydrate per 100 g and not a single gram of sugars: that is exactly what you ask of a carbohydrate base. All the energy comes from rice starch, that is to say from complex carbohydrates, and not from a sugar added to improve the taste. In this aisle, plenty of flavoured preparations show 10 to 20 g of sugars per 100 g without it being obvious at first glance.

The 7.7 g of protein per 100 g are the rice's own, and they replace nothing. This is not a protein source: at 50 g of powder you are at 3.9 g, less than half an egg. This product is a carbohydrate contribution, full stop. That is precisely why it is almost always prepared with a scoop of protein added after cooking.

What the manufacturer does not publish has to be flagged: fat, fibre and salt do not appear in the data available to us, nor does the weight of the pack. We will not fill those boxes in with approximate values. Since rice is naturally very low in fat, a low content can be expected, but expecting is not knowing: refer to the table printed on the packaging you receive.

On the regulatory side there is nothing to claim, and that is just as well: there is no authorised health claim for rice semolina. This is not a food supplement, it is a food. Carbohydrates serve as fuel for exercise, which is a matter of basic physiology and not of a commercial promise. Be wary of product pages that talk about “optimised glycogen reloading” or “anabolism”: they describe an intention, not a demonstrated effect of the product.

Ingredients list

100% instant rice semolina. Single ingredient.

No allergen in the recipe. The manufacturer states that it is made in a factory handling GLUTEN, MILK, SOYA and EGGS: traces of these allergens may be present. This point is decisive in the case of coeliac disease or a severe allergy.

How do you prepare Designer Rice Pudding?

Serving: refer to the amount stated on the packaging; reckon on 50 to 100 g depending on your needs. Liquid: about four times the volume of powder, in hot water. Preparation: pour the liquid in while stirring with a whisk, then leave to stand for two minutes. Timing: 1 to 2 hours before exercise, or straight after the session. Duration: no notion of a course, it is a food.

The whisk is not an affectation. Poured all at once onto the powder without stirring, rice semolina forms lumps that are impossible to rescue. Pour the hot liquid in gradually while whisking, then let it swell for two minutes: the texture turns creamy on its own. That is the difference between a pleasant porridge and plaster.

Add the protein afterwards, never before. A whey poured into a hot liquid coagulates and gives an unpleasant grainy texture. Make the porridge first, let it cool for a minute, then stir in your scoop of protein. It is the most common mistake with this type of product, and it is easy to avoid.

Before a session, allow one to two hours. This is a carbohydrate-dense food, and heading off to train with a stomach full of thick porridge is the surest way to have a bad session. After training, on the other hand, there is no delay to observe: eat when you are hungry.

On taste, the neutral version calls for seasoning. A little cinnamon, unsweetened cocoa, a mashed piece of fruit, or a powder from our flavourings and sweeteners aisle completely transforms the result for a negligible calorie contribution.

Who is Designer Rice Pudding for, and who is it not for?

It suits someone who needs to add carbohydrate to their day without resorting to fast sugars or to cooking: mass gain, endurance sport, or simply an appetite that does not keep up with requirements. The porridge format has a real advantage: it goes down more easily than a plate of rice when you struggle to eat.

The main point to watch is the traces. The recipe contains no allergen, but the factory handles gluten, milk, soya and eggs. In the case of coeliac disease or a severe allergy, this product is not safe, despite the single ingredient. It is a point many product pages keep quiet about because it spoils the “100% rice” story.

It is not for you if your goal is to cut calories. 373 kcal per 100 g is dense, and it is meant to be. During a period of weight loss, adding this porridge without taking something else away will do you no favours. Our weight loss aisle answers an entirely different need.

What not to expect from it. This is not a performance product: it is ground rice. It does not build muscle, does not replace a structured diet and has no effect of its own. What it does provide is a simple, easily digested way to eat carbohydrate when you need it — and that is already exactly why people buy it.

Cream of rice or maltodextrin?

Both serve to add carbohydrate, but they do not behave in the same way and the confusion is common.

Maltodextrin is a soluble powder, with no texture, that goes into a shaker. It is drunk, digests very quickly, and that is what makes it useful during a long effort or straight afterwards. On the other hand, it is not filling at all: you are not “eating” anything. Our maltodextrin aisle covers these powders, and cyclic dextrin is the more modern version, better tolerated by the stomach during exercise.

Rice semolina, by contrast, is eaten with a spoon and replaces a carbohydrate meal. That is the essential difference. For a breakfast, a snack or a post-session meal, it is far more satisfying than a sweet drink. For drinking during training, it is unusable.

A third base is worth knowing about: oat flour provides more fibre and slower digestion, which suits the morning better than the run-up to a session. Plenty of people alternate the two depending on the time of day, and that is probably the best way to use them.

Frequently asked questions

How much carbohydrate per 100 g?

83 g, of which 0 g sugars, for 373 kcal. All the energy comes from rice starch. That is a high carbohydrate density, very useful when appetite does not keep up with requirements, and far less relevant if you are looking to cut your intake.

Does the product contain gluten?

Not in the recipe: the single ingredient is rice semolina. But the manufacturer states that it is made in a factory handling gluten, milk, soya and eggs, with possible traces. In the case of coeliac disease, this product therefore does not offer the necessary safety.

How do you avoid lumps?

Pour the hot water gradually onto the powder while stirring with a whisk, never all at once. Reckon on about four times the volume of powder in liquid, then leave it to stand for two minutes. The texture turns creamy as it swells, without needing further stirring.

Can whey be mixed into it?

Yes, but after preparation and not during. A whey protein poured into a hot liquid coagulates and makes the texture grainy. Let the porridge cool for a minute, then stir the scoop in. That is the usual way of putting together a complete meal with this product.

How long before training?

One to two hours. This is a dense food, and a thick porridge swallowed twenty minutes before the session sits heavily on the stomach. After training, no delay needs to be observed: the famous thirty-minute window does not have the importance it is credited with, the day's total counts for more.

Is the product flavoured?

No, it is neutral: the ingredients list contains nothing but rice semolina. That is an advantage — you control what you add — but it does mean seasoning it. Cinnamon, unsweetened cocoa, mashed fruit or a flavouring powder do the job perfectly.

What is the weight of the pack?

The manufacturer does not disclose it in the data available to us, any more than the fat, fibre or salt content. We would rather flag that than put forward a figure. The net weight is on the packaging you receive.

Where can you buy ESN Designer Rice Pudding?

The product can be ordered from this page, and we ship throughout France and Europe. At the Vendargues shop, about ten minutes from Montpellier, it is the base we recommend to customers who struggle to eat enough: a porridge gets finished when a plate of rice is left half-eaten, and during mass gain that detail is what makes the difference. The rest of our selection can be browsed in the mass gain aisle.