Why it works: Barley and flour work together. They rank in the top 13% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 582 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Barley Muffins
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Sift together the barley meal, white flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder.
Mix and bake
Add the melted shortening, beaten egg, and milk to the dry ingredients. Mix well until combined.
Pour the batter into muffin pans.
Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.
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.
Photo for illustrative purposes only · Contact us to use it
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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Barley + flourtop 13% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together582 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Barley + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together598 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl octanoate (fruity).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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
- Barley meal
- Provides the main grain flavour and a tender, slightly crumbly crumb.
- White flour
- Gives gluten structure so the muffins hold their shape while baking.
- Egg
- Binds the batter and adds structure as it sets in the oven.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter so the muffins rise in the oven.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and helps hydrate the flour and meal into a batter.
- Shortening
- Adds fat that tenderises the crumb and carries flavour.
The step that matters
Mix well until combined. Stirring only until the dry and wet ingredients meet keeps the batter tender. Overmixing develops gluten in the white flour, which can make muffins tough and dense.
“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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