Why it works: Gelatin and sugar substitute share more aroma than cooks usually use. They rank in the top 4% of all ingredient pairs, and 11 recipes mention both. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓
The recipe
eight piecesIngredients
Contains: egg, milk, wheat (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Prepare the crust and gelatin
Prepare pie crust and chill 2 hours or longer before filling.
Soak gelatin in cold water and set aside.
Make the custard
Heat 1 ½ cups of milk in the top of a double boiler over simmering water.
In a small bowl combine flour, salt and ½ cup of cold milk; mix until smooth and without lumps.
Slowly pour ½ cup of the hot milk into the bowl with the flour mixture; stir to mix well.
Slowly pour contents of the bowl back into the pot of hot milk.
Cook and stir over simmering water until thick and smooth.
Pour mixture slowly on top of beaten eggs, stirring constantly.
Return to top of double boiler.
Cook and stir over simmering water about 4 minutes; remove from heat.
Add gelatin, sweetener and vanilla; mix well to dissolve gelatin.
Cool and chill until mixture begins to gel.
Fill and set the pie
Peel bananas, slice thin and measure 1 ½ cups.
Arrange 1 cup of sliced bananas in bottom of pie shell, then carefully spoon and pour filling evenly on top.
Arrange remaining ½ cup sliced bananas on top and garnish with the vanilla crumbs saved when making pie shell.
Cover whole pie carefully with plastic wrap.
Chill 2-3 hours, until set and firm.
To serve, cut into eight equal pieces.
This recipe comes from the Recipes Wiki on Fandom and is licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Our formatting and summaries are shared under the same licence.
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 aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Gelatin + sugar substitutetop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together11 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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Vanilla + bananatop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,430 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).
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Vanilla + milktop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together19,175 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Vanilla + sugartop 3% of all pairsAroma overlaplowMentioned together35,031 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Gelatin + sugartop 5% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together2,778 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
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
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Coagulate when heated with the custard, giving the filling body and structure.
- Flour
- Thickens the milk mixture into a smooth, stable custard when cooked.
- Gelatin
- Sets the chilled filling so it holds its shape when sliced.
- Bananas
- Provide flavor and sweetness, and form the fruit layer within the pie.
- Skim milk
- Forms the liquid base of the custard that thickens with flour and egg.
The step that matters
Cooking the custard over simmering water. Egg proteins can scramble if the custard gets too hot or is added to the eggs too quickly. Stirring constantly and tempering the eggs with hot mixture keeps the custard smooth and thick.
“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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