Name: Banana Split I
Yield: 1
Ingredients: 1 banana; 1 scoop vanilla ice cream; 1 scoop strawberry ice cream; 1 scoop chocolate ice cream; Chocolate sauce; Whipped cream (optional)

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 ↓

Banana Split I

Serves 1

Ingredients

Directions

Assemble

Split the banana in 2 parts and put them side by side.
Place vanilla ice cream in the middle and strawberry and chocolate ice cream on the side.
Pour some chocolate sauce over them. Top with whipped cream if desired.

Serve

Serve immediately.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

423Calories

4 gProtein

20 gFat

57 gCarbs

Counts 6 of 7 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 6 portions

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Chocolate	1 oz (28g) semisweet	155
Banana	1 medium (118g)	105
Ice Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Cream	1 tbsp (15ml) heavy	51
Strawberry	1 cup (152g)	49
Vanilla	1 tsp extract (4ml)	12
Sauce	not in our table	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 Wikibooks Cookbook.

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.

Banana + vanillatop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,430 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).
Vanilla + strawberrytop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,385 recipes

Shared aroma: p-vinylguaiacol (spicy, fruity).
Banana + strawberrytop 1% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together421 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).
Vanilla + chocolatetop 5% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together10,020 recipes

Shared aroma: sotolon (curry, maple).
Cream + saucetop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,787 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).

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

What each ingredient does

Banana: Forms the base and provides natural sweetness and a soft texture against the ice cream.
Vanilla ice cream: Provides a cold, creamy centre flavour that balances the sweeter toppings.
Chocolate sauce: Adds sweetness and a rich, glossy layer that clings to the cold ice cream.

Swap the banana

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (vanilla, cream, strawberry, chocolate, sauce):

Raspberryfits about as well
Blackberryfits about as well
Pineapplefits about as well
Bananathe original

Fit is the average pairing score against vanilla, cream, strawberry, chocolate, sauce. 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.