Name: Hickory Nut and Banana Sandwiches
Ingredients: ½ cup chopped hickory nut meats; 2 firm bananas, sliced; brown bread, thinly sliced

Why it works: Meat and bread are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,924 recipes. Both carry 2,4-decadienal, which smells seaweed. The science ↓

Hickory Nut and Banana Sandwiches

Ingredients

½ cup chopped hickory nut meats
2 firm bananas, sliced
brown bread, thinly sliced

Directions

Combine the chopped hickory nuts and sliced bananas in a bowl.
Spread the mixture between thin slices of brown bread.
Serve immediately.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

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.

Meat + breadtop 14% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together2,924 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,4-decadienal (seaweed).
Banana + breadtop 17% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together67 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
Meat + bananatop 31% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together90 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).

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

What each ingredient does

Hickory nut meats: Add crunch and a rich, nutty flavour that contrasts with the soft banana.
Bananas: Provide moisture and natural sweetness, binding the filling softly together.
Brown bread: Gives a sturdy base that holds the filling and adds a mild, toasty flavour.