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Dessert

Norm's Banana Nut Bread

A loaf of banana bread with pecans, baked at 350°F.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 11 ingredients
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Why it works: Banana and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,430 recipes. Both carry ethyl isobutyrate, which smells fruity, ethereal. The science ↓

Norm's Banana Nut Bread

Oven350°F
Timeabout 1 hour

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

  2. Butter and flour the loaf pan.

  3. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a bowl.

  4. In another bowl, mix mashed bananas, milk, and vanilla extract.

Make the batter

  1. Beat shortening in a large bowl until it becomes creamy.

  2. Gradually beat in sugar and eggs, one egg at a time, beating well after each egg with an electric blender.

  3. Add the banana mixture and flour mixture alternately into the shortening mixture.

  4. Add pecans as the last ingredient.

  5. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.

Bake and serve

  1. Bake in the oven for about 1 hour; test the center before removing.

  2. If done, allow 5 minutes to cool, then turn onto a rack and cool completely.

  3. Serve a slice while warm, enjoy.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

1090Calories
29 gProtein
42 gFat
148 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 10 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Vegetable1 tbsp (14g)120
Banana1 medium (118g)105
Butter1 tbsp (14g)102
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Pecan1 half (4g)20
Vanilla1 tsp extract (4ml)12
Salt1 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).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

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.

  1. Banana + vanillatop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,430 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).

  2. Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,187 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  3. Pecans + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,691 recipes

    Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).

  4. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  5. Banana + milktop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together1,470 recipes

    Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).

Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.

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

What each ingredient does

All-purpose flour
Provides the structure that holds the loaf together as the batter sets.
Ripe bananas
Add moisture and natural sweetness to the batter.
Vegetable shortening
Adds fat that makes the batter tender and creamy when beaten.
Eggs
Bind the batter and add structure and richness as they set.
Baking powder
Releases gas in the batter to help the loaf rise.
Sugar
Sweetens the loaf and helps it brown while baking.

The step that matters

Adding the eggs one at a time and beating well. Beating each egg fully into the creamed shortening and sugar keeps the batter emulsified. If eggs are added too quickly, the mixture can split and the loaf may turn out coarse and dense.

Swap the pecans

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (flour, banana, milk, sugar, egg, vanilla):

  1. Almondfits better
  2. Chestnutfits better
  3. Hazelnutfits better
  4. Pecansthe original

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

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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