Why it works: Milk and flour are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 14% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 78,219 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Muffins
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a moderate oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Make the batter
In a bowl, beat the egg well.
Add the sweet milk and mix.
In another bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.
Gradually add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, mixing until just combined.
Bake
Pour the batter into buttered muffin pans.
Bake for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.
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.
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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + flourtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + milktop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together88,785 recipes
Shared aroma: 2-nonenal (fatty, green).
Milk and flour barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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
- Egg
- Binds the batter and adds structure and richness as it sets in the oven.
- Flour
- Provides the main structure that holds the muffins together as they bake.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter, causing the muffins to rise and become light.
- Sweet milk
- Adds moisture and hydrates the flour, and helps the muffins brown.
The step that matters
Mixing the wet and dry ingredients. Stir only until just combined. Overmixing develops gluten in the flour, which makes muffins tough and dense instead of 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.
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