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 ↓
Muffins
Ingredients
Directions
Make the batter
Mix flour, eggs, melted butter, milk, and yeast thoroughly.
Set the mixture aside to rise for 2 to 3 hours.
Bake
Bake on a hot hearth in flat cakes.
Turn the muffins when one side is 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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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 + eggtop 15% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together106,462 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Egg + buttertop 17% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together118,967 recipes
Shared aroma: decanal (soap, orange peel).
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
- Flour
- Forms the structure that holds the batter's shape as it bakes.
- Eggs
- Add structure and richness, helping the batter set during baking.
- Butter
- Adds fat for tenderness and flavor in the finished muffins.
- Milk
- Provides liquid that hydrates the flour and gives the batter its moisture.
- Yeast
- Produces gas during rising, leavening the batter so it becomes light and airy.
The step that matters
Turn the muffins when one side is done. Turning too early can tear the cakes, since the underside needs to set firm enough to hold its shape. Waiting until the surface looks set and the edges firm helps the muffins keep an even, intact structure.
“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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