Why it works: Butter and milk 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
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 350°F (175°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Warm the mixing bowl and utensils.
In the warmed bowl, combine corn meal and scalding water; stir well.
Add butter, sugar, salt, and sweet milk, stirring slowly.
Mix in the yolk of the egg and baking powder.
Whip the egg white until stiff and fold it into the mixture.
Bake
Pour the batter into warmed muffin pans.
Bake in a moderate oven at 350°F (175°C) until golden.
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.
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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Corn + milktop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together6,955 recipes
Shared aroma: hexanal (green, grassy).
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Corn + buttertop 14% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together7,345 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-pentanedione (butter, sweet).
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Butter + eggtop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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Butter + sugartop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together98,233 recipes
Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- Corn meal
- Provides the main body and the characteristic grainy texture of the muffins.
- Egg
- The whipped white adds lift and airiness, while the yolk adds richness and structure.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter, helping the muffins rise in the oven.
- Sweet milk
- Adds moisture and softens the batter, helping it bake tender.
- Butter
- Adds fat for flavour and a tender crumb.
The step that matters
Folding in the egg white. Whipped egg white traps air that gives the muffins lift. Stirring it in vigorously knocks out that air, so fold gently until just combined.
“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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