Why it works: Milk and butter 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 ↓
Graham Muffins
Ingredients
Directions
The book says “a hot oven”. The 400°F (200°C) in the steps is the modern equivalent, not the book's own figure.
Make the batter
Sift together the Graham flour, all-purpose flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder.
Gradually add the milk, beaten egg, and melted butter. Beat the mixture thoroughly.
Bake
Pour into buttered muffin cups and bake at 400°F (200°C) 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.
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 + buttertop 7% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together81,283 recipes
Shared aroma: (z)-4-heptenal (biscuit, cream).
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Flour + buttertop 12% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together124,287 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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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).
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 flour
- Adds a nutty, coarse texture and wholesome flavour to the muffin crumb.
- All-purpose flour
- Provides the main gluten structure that holds the muffins together.
- Egg
- Binds the batter and helps set the crumb as it bakes.
- Baking powder
- Releases gas in the batter so the muffins rise in the oven.
- Sugar or molasses
- Sweetens the batter and helps the muffins brown during baking.
- Butter
- Adds richness and tenderness to the crumb.
The step that matters
Beat the mixture thoroughly. Beating develops gluten in the all-purpose flour, giving structure and a sturdy crumb. Because baking powder starts releasing gas as soon as it is wet, the batter should go into the cups and into the oven without delay so the rise is not lost.
“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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