Raisin + Banana
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 38 recipes, and they share 114 flavor molecules: the top 19% of all ingredient pairs.
Do raisin and banana go together?
Yes. 38 recipes in our collection combine them, and they share 114 flavor molecules. That places them in the top 19% of every ingredient pair we score.
Why they work
Almost everything raisin carries, banana has too: 114 of raisin's 129 flavor molecules also occur in banana. Among the shared key aromas are ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel) and 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
What each one brings
raisin
The fresh, green side. Green notes make up 10% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 7% for banana. It carries 15 molecules banana doesn't have.
banana
The fruit. Fruity notes make up 28% of its labelled aroma molecules, against 7% for raisin. It carries 243 molecules raisin doesn't have.
Add a third ingredient
- Fig: the best fit for both, top 7% of pairs with raisin, top 2% with banana.
- Cinnamon: top 1% of pairs with raisin, top 11% with banana.
- Vanilla: top 12% of pairs with raisin, top 1% with banana.
- Almond: top 2% of pairs with raisin, top 12% with banana.
Ranked by the average of its two pairing scores. Only foods used in at least 100 recipes are suggested.
Recipes with raisin and banana
Almost always desserts: 4 of the 4 recipes with a course label are desserts.
Can you swap one for the other?
Only partly. Almost all of raisin's flavor molecules (114 of 129) are also found in banana, but banana has 243 that raisin lacks. Raisin gives you part of banana's character without most of its fruit. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
All 114 shared molecules
See every shared molecule grouped by chemical class, with key aromas marked, plus the 15 only in raisin and the 243 only in banana.
Raisin and banana questions
Do raisin and banana go together?
A good pairing. Cooks put them together in 38 recipes, and they share 114 flavor molecules: the top 19% of all ingredient pairs.
Why do raisin and banana taste good together?
Almost everything raisin carries, banana has too: 114 of raisin's 129 flavor molecules also occur in banana. Among the shared key aromas are ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel) and 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
What goes with raisin and banana?
Fig is the best third ingredient: top 7% of pairs with raisin and top 2% with banana. Cinnamon and vanilla also fit both.
What can you make with raisin and banana?
Almost always desserts: 4 of the 4 recipes with a course label are desserts. Common dishes include Mamadou's Banana Glace, Sweet Banana Bruschetta, Haroset Afghani-style, Muffins I.
Can I use banana instead of raisin?
Only partly. Almost all of raisin's flavor molecules (114 of 129) are also found in banana, but banana has 243 that raisin lacks. Raisin gives you part of banana's character without most of its fruit. This compares flavor only; texture, moisture and the job each does in a dish matter too.
Compare other ingredients
Ranks compare this pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. Molecule counts are what the studies and databases we aggregate have reported for each ingredient: a measure of coverage, not a full census. How we score pairs
Cite this analysis
Compound Kitchen (2026). Compound similarity analysis: Raisin vs Banana. https://compkitchen.com/compare/raisin-vs-banana. Accessed 2026-11-06.
@misc{compkitchen_compare_compound_similarity_analysis_raisin_vs_banana_2026,
title = {Compound similarity analysis: Raisin vs Banana},
author = {{Compound Kitchen}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://compkitchen.com/compare/raisin-vs-banana},
note = {Accessed: 2026-11-06}
}
Methodology DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.19719459 · CC BY 4.0 · Citations are a request, not a requirement.