Why it works: Milk and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 7% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 81,283 recipes. Both carry (z)-4-heptenal, which smells biscuit, cream. The science ↓
Corn Muffins
Ingredients
Directions
Mix the batter
Beat yolks and whites separately.
Combine one quart sour milk, one small teaspoon soda, one small teaspoon salt, four tablespoons lard, and the beaten yolks and whites.
Add corn meal to make just thick enough to run.
Bake
Bake in a hot oven.
Second version
Beat yolks and whites separately.
Combine one quart sour milk, one dessert spoon salt, one teaspoon soda, three tablespoons melted butter or lard, and the beaten yolks and whites.
Make a thin batter and put the whites in last.
Butter the rings or pans and have hot before putting into the oven.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
What these numbers assume: 6 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Sour Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Lard | 1 tbsp (12.8g) | 115 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Sugar | 1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated | 49 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.
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. See the original page.
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.
-
Milk + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Milk + eggtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Eggs
- Yolks enrich and bind, while beaten whites trap air that lightens the muffins.
- Sour milk
- Provides moisture and acidity that reacts with the soda to help the muffins rise.
- Soda
- Reacts with the acidic sour milk to produce gas that lifts the batter.
- Lard
- Adds fat that tenderises the crumb and keeps it from drying out.
- Melted butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and a rich flavour.
The step that matters
Put the whites in last. Beaten egg whites trap air that lifts the batter. Stirring them in too long deflates them, so the muffins come out denser and flatter.
“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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