Why it works: Sugar and cream are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 9% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 43,450 recipes. Both carry 2,3-butanedione, which smells butter, sweet. The science ↓
Graham Muffins
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a quick oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Prepare the batter
Combine the Graham flour in a mixing bowl.
Mix the all-purpose flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and cream of tartar in a sieve, then sift the mixture into the Graham flour and mix well with your hands.
Beat the eggs until light, add the milk and mix.
Pour the egg and milk mixture into the dry ingredients and beat well.
Bake
Grease muffin pans and fill each cup with a large tablespoon of batter.
Bake for 20 minutes in a 400°F (200°C) oven.
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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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
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Flour + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + creamtop 18% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together29,399 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
Flour and milk 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
- Graham flour
- Provides the coarse bran and wheat body that gives the muffins their hearty texture.
- All-purpose flour
- Supplies gluten for structure, so the muffins hold their shape while baking.
- Eggs
- Bind the batter and set during baking, adding structure and richness.
- Milk
- Hydrates the flours and moistens the batter, helping it bake through softly.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acid in cream of tartar to release gas that makes the muffins rise.
- Cream of tartar
- Acts as an acid that pairs with baking soda to leaven the batter and add tenderness.
The step that matters
Combining the wet and dry ingredients. Beat only until the batter is combined. Overmixing develops gluten and makes muffins tough, while the baking soda and cream of tartar begin reacting as soon as they meet liquid, so the batter should go into the pans promptly.
“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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