Why it works: Fig and banana match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 104 recipes. Both carry ethyl isobutyrate, which smells fruity, ethereal. The science ↓
Fruit Pudding
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the gelatin and syrups
Soak gelatin in cold water for 10 minutes.
Make a syrup with ½ cup cold water.
Make a syrup with boiling water and sugar.
Pour the gelatin mixture into the syrup.
Strain the mixture.
Add the fruit
Stir in the fruit once it is quite stiff.
Slice the bananas.
Cut the oranges, figs, and dates into small pieces.
Add the sliced bananas and chopped fruit to the mixture.
Set and serve
Turn the mixture into a wet mold.
Let it harden.
Serve with whipped cream.
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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Fig + bananatop 2% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together104 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).
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Fig + datestop 2% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together318 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-methoxy-4-vinylphenol (clove, smoky).
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Fig + almondtop 3% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together519 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
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Fig + grapetop 4% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together323 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Banana + grapetop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together496 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
- Gelatin (in the method)
- Sets the liquid mixture into a firm, sliceable pudding that holds the fruit.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the syrup and balances the tartness of the citrus and fruit.
- Orange
- Adds bright acidity and fresh citrus aroma to the pudding.
- Bananas
- Add soft texture and natural sweetness to the set pudding.
The step that matters
Stir in the fruit once the mixture is quite stiff. Gelatin sets as it cools. If the fruit is added while the mixture is still liquid, it sinks to the bottom. If it has set too firmly, the fruit will not mix in evenly. Partly set gelatin holds the pieces suspended throughout.
Swap the dates
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (orange, fig, banana, almond, sugar, grape):
- Vanillafits better
- Apricotfits better
- Peachfits better
- Datesthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against orange, fig, banana, almond, sugar, grape. 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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