Why it works: Pumpkin and banana work together. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and 99 recipes mention both. Both carry 1-octen-3-ol, which smells mushroom, earthy. The science ↓
The recipe
Serves 6Ingredients
Contains: egg, milk, wheat, tree nuts (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray or oil.
In a large bowl, whisk together the pureed pumpkin, mashed bananas, eggs, Greek yogurt and vanilla until smooth.
In a second bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and allspice together.
Stir the brown sugar and granulated sugar into the wet mixture, then fold in the dry ingredients just until no dry streaks remain.
Spoon half the batter into the pan. Dollop the Nutella over it in spoonfuls, then cover with the remaining batter and swirl gently with a knife.
Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the eggs are set.
Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and cool completely before slicing.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Pumpkin + bananatop 8% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together99 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Banana + vanillatop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,430 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).
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Vanilla + sugartop 3% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together35,031 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Banana + yogurttop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together508 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
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Yogurt + vanillatop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together2,191 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Vanilla and sugar share little aroma chemistry, yet 35,031 recipes mention both: they likely work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
The Sunday pairing: one pairing, the chemistry behind it, and how to cook it. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
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