Actually folks..and Rick too....A helluva' lot of this thread is VERY regional. In many cases it relates to certain ethnic backgrounds as well. As an example, those who eat the classic Navy Bean Soup will tend to sweetened cornbread becasue the soup itself is slightly sweet, generally made with hambone from a sugar cured ham. I never really ate pinto beans til I went to college in Kentucky and found that pintos were a staple on many tables of poor southerners. A close friend and roommate whosw folks were tenant farmers always had pintos on their table and the cornbread, a staple too, was often fried, sometimes baked, but always sugarless. Pintos tend to be made with fatback or salt pork and the taste fits....as does a sprinkle of hot pepper vinegar in the beans.

When you hit the southwest, the cornbread tends to go into the chile/jalapeno direction to match the Chili and over in Louisiana the peppers change from jalapeno to Tabascos.

Now I know there are obvious variants, but that's a general rundown......and I know it doesn't ALWAYS hold true, but it's true enough. As far as using cornbread for desserts or other times, my family was long on the molasses and sorghum. We never seemed to have honey as a kid and I always thought it was something people had who couldn't get sorghum!!!

Fun thread........Shall we talk about ways to make and eat mush versus grits? LOL........

Spaw