Why it works: Cream and butter are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 41,516 recipes. Both carry delta-dodecalactone, which smells sweet, creamy. The science ↓
Corn Muffins
Ingredients
Directions
The book gives no oven temperature. The 350°F (175°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 the batter
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C).
Beat the eggs until light.
Add the buttermilk and cream or milk to the eggs and mix well.
Stir in the baking soda and lard or butter until combined.
Gradually add the meal until the batter reaches the consistency of pound cake batter.
Bake
Pour the batter into greased muffin tins and bake for about 20-25 minutes or until golden.
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.
-
Cream + buttertop 8% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together41,516 recipes
Shared aroma: delta-dodecalactone (sweet, creamy).
-
Buttermilk + creamtop 10% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together674 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
-
Buttermilk + buttertop 20% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together2,674 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
-
Egg + creamtop 24% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together42,166 recipes
Shared aroma: acetic acid (sour, vinegar).
Egg and cream barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 42,166 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
- Eggs
- Add structure and richness, binding the batter as it sets in the oven.
- Buttermilk
- Adds tang and moisture, and reacts with the baking soda to help the muffins rise.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acidic buttermilk to release gas, lifting the batter and helping it rise.
- Lard or butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and a rich flavour in the crumb.
- Meal
- Forms the main body of the muffins, setting into a firm crumb as it bakes.
The step that matters
Gradually add the meal. Adding the meal slowly lets you judge the batter's consistency. Too much meal makes the muffins dense and dry, while too little leaves them loose and flat.
“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.
More corn muffins recipes
You might also like
Cornbread345 recipes
Bread Pudding336 recipes
Milk Bread Rolls242 recipes
Potato Bread124 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.