Why it works: Flour and rye match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 8% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,320 recipes. Both carry isobutyraldehyde, which smells malty, green. The science ↓
Rye Gems
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 oven to 400°F (200°C).
Make the batter
In a bowl, mix the flour, rye meal, sugar, cream of tartar, and baking soda.
Beat the egg and add it to the dry ingredients.
Pour in the scalding milk and stir until well combined.
Spoon the batter into greased muffin tins.
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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Flour + ryetop 8% of all pairsSmell alikestrongCooked together1,320 recipes
Shared aroma: isobutyraldehyde (malty, green).
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Sugar + creamtop 9% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together43,450 recipes
Shared aroma: 2,3-butanedione (butter, sweet).
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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).
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Flour + sugartop 15% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together92,116 recipes
Shared aroma: phenylacetaldehyde (hawthorne, honey).
Flour and milk barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 78,219 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.
- Rye meal
- Adds a dense, earthy texture and flavour that differs from wheat flour.
- Egg
- Binds the batter and adds structure and richness as it sets.
- Cream of tartar
- Acidifies the batter so it reacts with baking soda to help the muffins rise.
- Baking soda
- Reacts with the acid in the batter to produce gas that lifts the muffins.
- Milk
- Hydrates the flour and adds moisture and tenderness to the crumb.
The step that matters
Pour in the scalding milk and stir until well combined. Baking soda and cream of tartar start reacting as soon as they are wet, so the batter should go into the tins promptly to keep the gas that lifts the muffins. Stirring only until combined avoids overworking the gluten, which would make the muffins tough.
“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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