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 ↓
Rye 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
Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C).
Sift together the rye meal, flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar.
Add the melted butter to the dry ingredients.
Mix and bake
Beat the eggs for 2 minutes and add them to the mixture.
Gradually add enough milk to form a stiff batter.
Grease muffin rings and place them in a greased baking pan. Fill the rings with batter and bake for about 15 minutes, or until done.
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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Butter + milktop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Rye + flourtop 8% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,320 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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Rye + milktop 12% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together918 recipes
Shared aroma: ethyl 2-methylbutyrate (fruity, apple).
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Flour + milktop 14% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together78,219 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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
- Rye meal
- Provides the dark, earthy flavour and a denser crumb than wheat flour alone.
- All-purpose flour
- Supplies gluten to give the muffins structure and hold their shape.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the heat, causing the batter to rise and lighten.
- Eggs
- Add structure as they set and help bind the batter together.
- Milk
- Hydrates the flours so the batter forms a workable, stiff mixture.
- Butter
- Adds richness and tenderness to the crumb.
The step that matters
Gradually add enough milk to form a stiff batter. Rye meal absorbs liquid differently from wheat flour, so adding milk slowly lets you judge the right stiffness. Too much liquid makes the muffins heavy and flat, while too little leaves them dry and crumbly.
“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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