Why it works: Wheat and milk are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 6% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 2,418 recipes. Both carry (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal, which smells cucumber, melon. The science ↓
Indian Muffins
Ingredients
Directions
Prepare the batter
Sift and mix together a pint and a half of yellow Indian meal and a handful of wheat flour.
Melt a quarter of a pound of fresh butter in a quart of milk.
Beat four eggs very light.
Stir into the eggs alternately a little at a time of each the milk when it is quite cold, and the meal; adding a small teaspoonful of salt.
Beat the whole mixture long and hard.
Cook and serve
Butter some muffin rings.
Set the rings on a hot griddle.
Pour some of the batter into each ring.
Send the muffins to table hot.
Split them by pulling them open with your fingers, as a knife will make them heavy.
Eat them with butter, molasses or honey.
Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)
Counts 5 of 6 ingredients. The other 1 aren't in our nutrition table and add nothing above, so the real totals are higher.
What these numbers assume: 5 portions
| Ingredient | Portion assumed | kcal |
|---|---|---|
| Flour | 1 cup (125g) all-purpose | 455 |
| Milk | 1 cup (244ml) whole | 149 |
| Butter | 1 tbsp (14g) | 102 |
| Egg | 1 large egg (50g) | 78 |
| Salt | 1 tsp (6g) | 0 |
| Wheat | not in our table | 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.
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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Wheat + milktop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,418 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
-
Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
-
Wheat + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together4,373 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Wheat + buttertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,002 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
Flour and butter barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 124,287 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
- Yellow indian meal (in the method)
- Forms the main body of the muffin, giving its structure and coarse texture.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and help the muffins set and hold their shape when cooked.
- Milk
- Adds moisture and hydrates the meal so the batter pours and cooks through.
- Fresh butter
- Adds fat, richness and flavour to the batter.
The step that matters
Beat the whole mixture long and hard. Thorough beating develops air and evenly distributes the eggs and liquid through the batter, which helps the muffins rise lightly and keeps the texture even.
“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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