Why it works: Banana and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,470 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-one, which smells mushroom, metallic. The science ↓
Banana Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure. The book gives no cooking times; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare the crust
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Line a pie tin with the pie crust.
Bake until golden.
Cover the bottom and sides of the baked pie shell with sliced bananas.
Make the custard
In a saucepan, mix cornstarch with sugar and blend with milk.
Boil the mixture for 10 minutes, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat and stir in the beaten egg yolks.
Make the meringue and bake
Beat the egg whites until stiff, then add powdered sugar.
Spread the meringue over the pie.
Bake in the oven until the meringue is slightly browned.
Serve the pie the same day it is baked.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
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.
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Banana + milktop 11% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,470 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
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Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Sugar + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together77,875 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
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Banana + sugartop 19% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,102 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-penten-3-one (fish, pungent).
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Sugar + eggtop 21% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together122,807 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Sugar and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 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
- Eggs
- Yolks thicken the custard and whites, beaten stiff, form the meringue topping.
- Cornstarch
- Thickens the milk and sugar mixture into a smooth, sliceable custard when boiled.
- Bananas
- Provide the fruit layer and sweet flavor over the pie shell.
- Powdered sugar
- Stabilizes the beaten egg whites and sweetens the meringue topping.
The step that matters
Boiling the custard while stirring constantly. Cornstarch only thickens fully once it reaches a boil, and constant stirring prevents lumps and scorching on the bottom of the pan. Stopping early leaves the filling runny.
Swap the banana
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (sugar, milk, egg):
- Vanillafits better
- Figfits better
- Raisinfits better
- Bananathe original
Fit is the average pairing score against sugar, milk, egg. 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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