Why it works: Vanilla and banana are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,430 recipes. Both carry ethyl isobutyrate, which smells fruity, ethereal. The science ↓
Banana-nut Cream Pie
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Make the custard
Beat the egg yolks until light.
Add the cold milk to the yolks.
Mix the sugar, flour, and salt together.
Add the mixture to the egg yolk mixture.
Place the mixture in a double boiler.
Cook until thick, stirring constantly.
Remove from heat.
Add the butter and vanilla.
Cool the cooked mixture.
Assemble and bake
In a baked pie shell, rub a teaspoon of flour into the bottom with your fingertips.
Layer sliced bananas in the bottom of the shell.
Pour the cooled mixture over the bananas, then sprinkle chopped pecans on top.
Make a meringue from the 2 egg whites.
Spread the meringue over the pie.
Bake the pie in a 350°F (175°C) oven for about 12 minutes, until the meringue is set and lightly browned.
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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Vanilla + bananatop 1% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,430 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl isobutyrate (fruity, ethereal).
-
Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together19,187 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).
-
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Vanilla + pecanstop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,691 recipes
Shared aroma: alpha-pinene (pine, turpentine).
-
Vanilla + sugartop 8% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together35,032 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
Vanilla and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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
- Egg yolks
- Thicken the custard as they cook and enrich its texture.
- Egg whites
- Whip into a meringue that sets and browns on top of the pie.
- Flour
- Thickens the custard so it holds its shape when sliced.
- Butter
- Adds richness and a smoother, silkier mouthfeel to the custard.
- Sugar
- Sweetens the custard and helps the meringue brown.
- Banana
- Provides fruit flavor and a soft layer beneath the custard.
The step that matters
Cooking the custard until thick. Stirring constantly over gentle heat keeps the egg yolks and starch from scorching or lumping, and the custard must thicken fully so it sets firmly when cooled.
Swap the pecans
How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (egg, butter, milk, vanilla, sugar, banana, flour):
- Almondfits better
- Hazelnutfits better
- Chestnutfits better
- Pecansthe original
Fit is the average pairing score against egg, butter, milk, vanilla, sugar, banana, flour. 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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