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 ↓
Graham or Entire Wheat Muffins
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a rather hot 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, mix and sift together the graham flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt.
Gradually add the milk, beaten egg, and melted butter to the dry ingredients.
Beat the mixture vigorously until well combined.
Bake
Pour the batter into greased gem pans.
Bake for 25 minutes.
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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Wheat + milktop 6% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,418 recipes
Shared aroma: (e,z)-2,6-nonadienal (cucumber, melon).
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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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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
- Graham or whole wheat flour
- Adds a nutty flavor and a coarser, more tender-chewy structure than white flour alone.
- All-purpose flour
- Provides gluten for structure, keeping the muffins light and lifted.
- Egg
- Binds the batter and adds structure and richness as it sets in the oven.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter to make the muffins rise.
- Milk
- Hydrates the flour and provides moisture for a soft crumb.
- Melted butter
- Adds fat for tenderness, moisture and flavor.
The step that matters
Beat the mixture vigorously until well combined. Once the wet and dry ingredients meet, gluten develops with mixing. Vigorous beating makes the muffins tougher, so the batter should be mixed until just combined and no dry flour remains.
“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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