Name: Bananas in a Rich Coconut Sauce
Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups coconut milk; 1 1/2 tbsp. sugar; salt; 6 large bananas, peeled and sliced diagonally about 3/4 inch thick; ice cream or whipped cream to serve

Why it works: Coconut and banana match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 3% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 549 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓

Bananas in a Rich Coconut Sauce

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups coconut milk
1 1/2 tbsp. sugar
salt
6 large bananas, peeled and sliced diagonally about 3/4 inch thick
ice cream or whipped cream to serve

Directions

After you add sugar/sault to the coconut milk, boil it. This dessert can be served with ice cream or whipped cream.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

539Calories

5 gProtein

38 gFat

50 gCarbs

What these numbers assume: 6 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Coconut	1/2 cup shredded (40g)	283
Banana	1 medium (118g)	105
Ice Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

Coconut + bananatop 3% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together549 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together43,450 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
Coconut + milktop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,648 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Milk + bananatop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,470 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Milk + creamtop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together29,399 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

Swap the banana

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (coconut, milk, sugar, cream):

Vanillafits better
Bananathe original
Pineapplefits about as well
Strawberryfits about as well

Fit is the average pairing score against coconut, milk, sugar, cream. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Banana Filling16 recipes

Banana Sherbet10 recipes

Banana Float9 recipes

White Cake431 recipes

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Bananas in a Rich Coconut Sauce