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 gives no oven temperature. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps was added when the recipe was transcribed, as a starting point. The book gives no cooking times either; the times in the steps were added in transcription, so check for doneness rather than trusting the clock.
Prepare
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Make the batter
In a bowl, mix the lard and butter until well combined.
Add the yellow cornmeal, salt, and milk, and stir until smooth.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour and baking powder.
Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture, stirring until just combined.
Spoon the batter into a greased muffin tin.
Bake
Bake for about 15-20 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.
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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Butter + flourtop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Milk + flourtop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
Butter and flour 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
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the main structure that holds the muffin together as it bakes.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter, helping the muffins rise and become light.
- Milk
- Hydrates the flour and cornmeal and adds moisture and tenderness.
- Lard
- Adds fat that tenderises the crumb and keeps the muffins moist.
- Butter
- Adds fat for flavour and a tender texture, and helps browning.
- Yellow cornmeal
- Gives the muffins their corn flavour and a slightly coarse, crumbly texture.
The step that matters
Stirring the dry ingredients into the wet mixture. Stirring only until just combined keeps gluten development low, so the muffins stay tender rather than tough and dense. Overmixing makes the gluten network strong and chewy.
“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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