Oatmeal Banana Cookies

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. Nutmeg + cinnamontop 1% of all pairs
   Smell alikestrong
   Cooked together11,917 recipes

   Shared aroma: estragole (anise, licorice).

2. Flour + nutmegtop 8% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together18,623 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

3. Flour + cinnamontop 9% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together17,341 recipes

   Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).

4. Sugar + cinnamontop 10% of all pairs
   Smell alikelow
   Cooked together30,779 recipes

   Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

5. Banana + cinnamontop 11% of all pairs
   Smell alikemoderate
   Cooked together701 recipes

   Shared aroma: 2-heptanol (bitter, floral).

Sugar and cinnamon barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 30,779 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

Shortening

Adds fat that makes the cookies tender and rich.

Sugar

Sweetens the cookies and helps them brown as they bake.

Egg

Binds the dough and adds structure as it sets in the oven.

Mashed banana

Adds moisture and natural sweetness to the dough.

Flour

Provides the structure that holds the cookies together.

Oatmeal

Adds chewy texture and bulk to the dough.

Swap the banana

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, egg, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon):

1. Raisinfits better
2. Vanillafits better
3. Blueberryfits better
4. Bananathe original

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