Name: Famous Dave's Corn Bread with Honey Jalapeño Glaze
Ingredients: 1 cup yellow cornmeal; 1 cup stone ground cornmeal; 1 (9 oz) package yellow cake mix; 2 tsp baking powder; 1 tsp salt; ⅛ tsp cayenne; ½ cup milk; ½ cup buttermilk; ¼ cup vegetable oil; 2 eggs, beaten; 2 tbsp light brown sugar; 2 tbsp honey; 1 tbsp mayonnaise

Why it works: Buttermilk and sugar match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,973 recipes. Both carry ethanol, which smells alcoholic, ethereal. The science ↓

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.

Buttermilk + sugartop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,973 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Milk + honeytop 10% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together1,336 recipes

Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity).
Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together88,785 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Milk + sugartop 18% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together77,875 recipes

Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Buttermilk + honeytop 19% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together144 recipes

Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-ol (mushroom, earthy).

Milk and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 77,875 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

Yellow cornmeal: Provides the coarse, grainy structure and corn flavor that define the cornbread.
Stone ground cornmeal: Adds a coarser texture and more pronounced corn flavor to the crumb.
Yellow cake mix: Contributes flour, sugar and leavening that make the crumb tender and sweet.
Baking powder: Releases gas in the batter, helping the cornbread rise in the oven.
Eggs: Bind the batter and set during baking to give the cornbread its structure.
Buttermilk: Adds moisture and tang, and its acidity reacts with leavening for lift.

The step that matters

Mix the batter gently. Overmixing develops gluten and knots the batter, which makes the cornbread tough and dense. Stir only until no lumps remain.

“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.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Olive Oil	1 tbsp (14g)	119
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Honey	1 tbsp (21g)	64
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Cayenne	1 tsp (1.8g)	6
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0
Cake	not in our table	0

Famous Dave's Corn Bread with Honey Jalapeño Glaze