Name: Banana Pancakes II
Ingredients: 1 cup all-purpose flour; 1 tablespoon sugar; 1 teaspoon baking powder; 1/2 teaspoon baking soda; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1 6-ounce container banana custard-style yogurt; 1/2 cup skim milk; 1 egg, beaten; 2 tablespoons vegetable oil; 1 cup cooked rice; 1 cup pureed or finely diced banana; Vegetable cooking spray

Why it works: Milk and rice are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 7,374 recipes. Both carry 2-nonenal, which smells fatty, green. The science ↓

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.

Milk + ricetop 7% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together7,374 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Banana + yogurttop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together508 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).
Banana + milktop 11% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,470 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
Yogurt + milktop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,361 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity).
Flour + milktop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together78,219 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

Flour and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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 main structure that holds the pancake together as it sets.
Baking powder: Releases gas as it reacts with the batter, helping the pancakes rise and become light.
Baking soda: Reacts with the acidic yogurt to produce gas, adding lift and tenderness.
Egg: Binds the batter and adds structure as it cooks.
Banana custard-style yogurt: Adds moisture and acidity, which tenderizes the batter and reacts with the baking soda.
Banana: Adds moisture, sweetness and banana flavor throughout the pancakes.

The step that matters

Cook over medium heat until bubbles form on top. Heat that is too high browns the outside before the centre sets, leaving the pancake raw inside. Wait for bubbles and set edges before flipping, so the interior cooks through and the pancake holds its shape.

Swap the banana

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

Vanillafits better
Raisinfits better
Coconutfits better
Bananathe original

Fit is the average pairing score against flour, sugar, yogurt, milk, egg, rice. 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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Rice	1 cup cooked (158g) white	206
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Vegetable	1 tbsp (14g)	120
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Banana	1 medium (118g)	105
Yogurt	170g plain Greek	100
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Banana Pancakes II