Name: Basil, Roasted Peppers and Monterey Jack Cornbread
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 55 min
Yield: 1 - 9 x 9 inch pan
Ingredients: 1/2 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cubed; 1 cup chopped onion; 1 3/4 cups cornmeal; 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour; 1/4 cup white sugar; 1 tablespoon baking powder; 1 1/2 teaspoons salt; 1/2 teaspoon baking soda; 1 1/2 cups buttermilk; 3 eggs; 1 1/2 cups shredded pepperjack cheese; 1 1/3 cups frozen corn kernels, thawed and drained; 2 ounces roasted marinated red bell peppers, drained and chopped; 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

Why it works: Flour and buttermilk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 3,721 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.

Flour + buttermilktop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together3,721 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Butter + cheesetop 8% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together7,962 recipes

Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Sugar + buttermilktop 9% of all pairs

Smell alikestrong

Cooked together2,973 recipes

Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairs

Smell alikelow

Cooked together124,287 recipes

Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Onion + corntop 13% of all pairs

Smell alikemoderate

Cooked together4,205 recipes

Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).

Butter and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (butter, flour, sugar, buttermilk, egg, cheese, corn):

Chivefits better
Sweet potatofits better
Capsicumfits better
Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against butter, flour, sugar, buttermilk, egg, cheese, corn. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

Ingredient	Portion assumed	kcal
Flour	1 cup (125g) all-purpose	455
Milk	1 cup (244ml) whole	149
Cheese	1 oz (28g) cheddar	113
Butter	1 tbsp (14g)	102
Egg	1 large egg (50g)	78
Corn	1/2 cup kernels (82g)	77
Sugar	1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated	49
Onion	1 medium (110g)	44
Red Bell Pepper	1 medium (119g)	31
Basil	5 leaves fresh (2.5g)	1
Salt	1 tsp (6g)	0

Basil, Roasted Peppers and Monterey Jack Cornbread