Why it works: Flour and egg are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 15% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 106,462 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Whole-wheat Muffins
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).
Make the batter
In a bowl, combine the graham flour, sweetener, melted shortening, egg, baking powder, liquid, and salt.
Add the bran that remains after sifting the flour mixture.
Mix until just combined; do not overmix.
Bake
Pour the batter into muffin tins and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
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.
-
Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Flour and egg barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 106,462 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
- Graham flour
- Provides the main structure, and its coarse bran gives the muffins a hearty, whole-grain texture.
- Egg
- Binds the batter and helps set the crumb as it bakes.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas during baking so the muffins rise and become light.
- Melted shortening
- Adds fat that tenderizes the crumb and carries flavor.
- Sweetener
- Adds sweetness and helps the crust brown during baking.
- Liquid
- Hydrates the flour so the starches and proteins form a batter.
The step that matters
Mix until just combined; do not overmix.. Overmixing develops gluten in the flour, which makes muffins tough and tunnelled. Stirring only until the dry ingredients are moistened keeps the crumb tender.
“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.
You might also like
White Cake431 recipes
Pound Cake373 recipes
Orange Bundt Cake349 recipes
Spice Cake344 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.