Name: Baked Barley II
Ingredients: 2 cup Cooked & mashed AM Beans; -- (of choice); 1 cup Pre-cooked AM Bits-O-Barley; 1 cup Soy milk; 1/2 cup AM Raw Wheat Germ; 2 tbsp AM Soy Flour; 1 tbsp AM Unrefined Vegetable Oil; 1/4 cup Onion, minced and sauteed; 3 tbsp Prepared mustard; 1/2 cup Honey; 1/2 cup Catsup of choice; 1/2 tsp Garlic powder; 1/2 tsp Onion powder; 1/2 tsp Chili powder; Sea salt to taste (optional)

Why it works: Soy milk and honey work together. They rank in the top 11% of all ingredient pairs, and 45 recipes mention both. Both carry 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline, which smells popcorn, roasted. The science ↓

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.

Soy milk + honeytop 11% of all pairs

Aroma overlaplow

Mentioned together45 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).
Barley + wheattop 3% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together185 recipes

Shared aroma: isoamyl acetate (banana, fruity).
Beans + barleytop 3% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together106 recipes

Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
Beans + mustardtop 4% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together852 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-isopropyl-3-methoxypyrazine (earthy, pea).
Wheat + honeytop 4% of all pairs

Aroma overlapstrong

Mentioned together346 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-acetyl-1-pyrroline (popcorn, roasted).

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

What each ingredient does

Cooked & mashed am beans: Provides the bulk and body of the dish, with moisture and some binding.
Pre-cooked am bits-o-barley: Adds chewy texture and absorbs liquid so the mixture holds together.
Soy milk: Adds moisture and helps bind the mixture while it bakes.
Am raw wheat germ: Adds nutty flavour and a little texture to the mixture.
Honey: Adds sweetness and helps the surface brown in the oven.
Catsup of choice: Adds sweetness, acidity and moisture for a tangy flavour.

Flavor stand-ins for the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (beans, barley, soy milk, wheat, flour, mustard, honey):

Potatobetter flavor fit
Sweet potatobetter flavor fit
Asparagusbetter flavor fit
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against beans, barley, soy milk, wheat, flour, mustard, honey. 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).

“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.