Why it works: Cream and banana are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 23% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,180 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-one, which smells mushroom, metallic. The science ↓
Prune Cream
Ingredients
Directions
Make the prune base
Heat the prune juice in a saucepan.
Thicken the juice with cornstarch, stirring until smooth.
Pour the mixture into a flat dish and let it set.
Assemble and serve
Once set, turn it out onto a serving plate.
Top with a layer of sliced bananas.
Finally, cover with whipped cream that has been sweetened to taste.
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.
-
Cream + bananatop 23% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together1,180 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
- Prune juice
- Provides the main flavour and liquid that the cornstarch thickens into a set cream.
- Cornstarch
- Thickens the hot juice as its starch swells, so the mixture sets firm when cooled.
- Whipped cream
- Adds a light, airy texture and mild sweetness over the set prune base.
- Sliced bananas
- Adds a soft texture and mild sweetness as a layer between the prune base and cream.
The step that matters
Stirring the juice while thickening with cornstarch. Cornstarch clumps if it hits hot liquid unmixed. Stirring until smooth keeps the starch dispersed so it thickens evenly and the cream sets without lumps.
“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.
You might also like
Banana Filling16 recipes
Banana Sherbet10 recipes
Banana Float9 recipes
White Cake431 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.