Why it works: Banana and vanilla match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and 1,430 recipes mention both. Both carry ethyl isobutyrate, which smells fruity, ethereal. The science ↓
The recipe
(4 servings)Ingredients
Contains: milk, soy (auto-detected from the ingredients and method; we can miss things, so check labels)
Directions
Method written by CompKitchen from the ingredient list. Not the original author's method, not kitchen-tested.
Grind the flax seed in a clean coffee grinder until it forms a fine meal.
Pour the skim milk into a small saucepan and warm over medium-low heat for about 5 minutes, stirring, until steaming but not boiling.
Remove from the heat and whisk in the ground flax, chia seeds, honey and vanilla extract until no clumps remain.
Mash the ripe banana in a small bowl until smooth, then stir it into the milk mixture.
Divide the pudding among 4 small glasses or bowls and cover.
Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, until the seeds have swollen and the pudding is thick.
Just before serving, spoon fresh berries over each portion.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much aroma chemistry they share, and how many recipes mention both.
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Banana + vanillatop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,430 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).
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Milk + vanillatop 2% of all pairsAroma overlapmoderateMentioned together19,175 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
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Banana + honeytop 3% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together395 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).
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Honey + vanillatop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,262 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
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Milk + honeytop 4% of all pairsAroma overlapstrongMentioned together1,333 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
Flavor stand-ins for the chia
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, coffee, banana, honey, vanilla):
- Cinnamonbetter flavor fit
- Peppermintbetter flavor fit
- Clovebetter flavor fit
- Chiathe original
Fit is the average pairing score against milk, coffee, banana, honey, vanilla. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes. This compares flavor only: it does not check the job the ingredient does in the dish (bulk, moisture, acidity, structure).
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