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Dessert

Blueberry Cornmeal Muffins

A muffin made with whole wheat flour, cornmeal, blueberries, and buttermilk.

By Health Canada · From Canada's Food Guide · 13 ingredients
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Blueberry Cornmeal Muffins

Why it works: Milk and vanilla are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 5% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 19,187 recipes. Both carry ethyl caproate, which smells fruity, apple peel. The science ↓

Blueberry Cornmeal Muffins

Serves 12
Oven175°C (350°F)
Time28 to 30 minutes

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare

  1. Preheat the oven to 175°C (350°F). Line a muffin pan with silicon liners or use non‑stick spray.

  2. Prepare buttermilk by combining milk and lemon juice. Let sit for 10 minutes.

  3. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

  4. In a small bowl, place blueberries and toss with 5 mL (1 tsp) of flour mixture. Set aside.

Make and bake the batter

  1. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, sour cream, and lemon zest.

  2. Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients, along with sunflower oil. Stir until just blended.

  3. Fold in blueberries. Do not overmix.

  4. Spoon batter evenly into the prepared pan up to the top of each cup.

  5. Bake for 28 to 30 minutes, or until the tops are firm and golden around the edges.

Cool

  1. Cool muffins for a few minutes in the pan and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

939Calories
46 gProtein
16 gFat
151 gCarbs

Counts 9 of 10 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.

What these numbers assume: 9 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Flour1 cup (125g) all-purpose455
Milk1 cup (244ml) whole149
Yogurt170g plain Greek100
Blueberry1 cup (148g)84
Egg1 large egg (50g)78
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Lemonjuice of 1 lemon (48ml)12
Vanilla1 tsp extract (4ml)12
Salt1 tsp (6g)0
Sunflower Oilnot in our table0

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

By Health Canada. Recipe from Canada's Food Guide.

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

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.

  1. Milk + vanillatop 5% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together19,187 recipes

    Shared aroma: ethyl caproate (fruity, apple peel).

  2. Milk + wheattop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together2,418 recipes

    Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).

  3. Sugar + vanillatop 8% of all pairs
    Smell alikelow
    Cooked together35,032 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

  4. Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together43,450 recipes

    Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).

  5. Wheat + vanillatop 11% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together496 recipes

    Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).

Sugar and vanilla barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 35,032 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

Whole wheat flour
Provides the structure that holds the muffin crumb together as it bakes.
Eggs
Add structure and richness, setting the crumb as the muffins bake.
Baking powder
Releases gas in the batter, helping the muffins rise and become light.
Sour cream
Adds moisture and tenderness, along with a mild tang.
Sunflower oil
Adds fat that keeps the muffins moist and tender.
Sugar
Sweetens the muffins and helps browning of the tops and edges.

The step that matters

Fold in blueberries. Do not overmix.. Stirring too much develops gluten in the flour, making the muffins tough and tunnelled. Stop once the batter is just combined, and toss the blueberries in flour first so they stay suspended instead of sinking.

Swap the lemon

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (milk, wheat, flour, sugar, egg, vanilla, cream):

  1. Figfits better
  2. Blueberryfits better
  3. Raisinfits better
  4. Lemonthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against milk, wheat, flour, sugar, egg, vanilla, cream. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“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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