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English Muffin

 
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English muffin
 
 
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A muffin (US: English muffin), also known as a hot muffin, or a breakfast muffin, is a round, yeast
Yeast

Yeasts are eukaryote microorganisms classified in the Kingdom fungus, with about 1,500 species currently described; they dominate fungal diversity in the oceans....
-leavened form of bread
Bread

Bread is a staple food prepared by baking a dough of flour and water. It may be leavened or unleavened. Edible salt, fat and a leavening agent such as yeast are common ingredients, though bread may contain a range of other ingredients: milk, Egg , sugar, spice, fruit , vegetables , Nut or seeds ....
 almost always dusted with cornmeal
Cornmeal

Cornmeal is flour ground from dried maize, and is a common staple food. In the United States it is also called cornflour. ...
. It may be eaten at breakfast
Breakfast

Breakfast is a meal eaten after a long period of sleep, most often eaten in the morning. The word came about because it means breaking the fast after one has not eaten since the night before....
 in North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
 and Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
, but is more likely to be served as an afternoon meal in England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
.

History
An old English nursery rhyme
Nursery rhyme

The term nursery rhyme is used for ?traditional? songs for young children in Britain and many English speaking countries, but usage only dates from the nineteenth century and in North America the older ?Mother Goose Rhymes? is still often used....
, The Muffin Man
The Muffin Man

The Muffin Man is a traditional nursery rhyme or children's song of England origin. The most widely known lyrics are as follows:Do you know the Muffin Man?...
, describes a door-to-door purveyor of muffins. The rhyme was known at the time of Jane Austen
Jane Austen

Jane Austen was an English novelist whose Literary realism, biting social commentary and masterful use of free indirect speech, Burlesque , and irony have earned her a place as one of the most widely read and most beloved writers in English literature....
 in the early 19th Century and a muffin man is mentioned at one point in her novel, Persuasion
Persuasion (novel)

Persuasion is Jane Austen's last completed novel. She began it soon after she had finished Emma, completing it in August, 1816. She died, aged 41, in 1817, but Persuasion was not published until 1818....
.






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Encyclopedia


A muffin (US: English muffin), also known as a hot muffin, or a breakfast muffin, is a round, yeast
Yeast

Yeasts are eukaryote microorganisms classified in the Kingdom fungus, with about 1,500 species currently described; they dominate fungal diversity in the oceans....
-leavened form of bread
Bread

Bread is a staple food prepared by baking a dough of flour and water. It may be leavened or unleavened. Edible salt, fat and a leavening agent such as yeast are common ingredients, though bread may contain a range of other ingredients: milk, Egg , sugar, spice, fruit , vegetables , Nut or seeds ....
 almost always dusted with cornmeal
Cornmeal

Cornmeal is flour ground from dried maize, and is a common staple food. In the United States it is also called cornflour. ...
. It may be eaten at breakfast
Breakfast

Breakfast is a meal eaten after a long period of sleep, most often eaten in the morning. The word came about because it means breaking the fast after one has not eaten since the night before....
 in North America
North America

North America is the northern continent of the Americas, situated in the Earth's northern hemisphere and almost totally in the western hemisphere....
 and Australia
Australia

Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the southern hemisphere comprising the Australia of the world's smallest continent, the major island of Tasmania, and numerous list of islands of Australia in the Indian Ocean and Pacific Oceans....
, but is more likely to be served as an afternoon meal in England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
.

History


An old English nursery rhyme
Nursery rhyme

The term nursery rhyme is used for ?traditional? songs for young children in Britain and many English speaking countries, but usage only dates from the nineteenth century and in North America the older ?Mother Goose Rhymes? is still often used....
, The Muffin Man
The Muffin Man

The Muffin Man is a traditional nursery rhyme or children's song of England origin. The most widely known lyrics are as follows:Do you know the Muffin Man?...
, describes a door-to-door purveyor of muffins. The rhyme was known at the time of Jane Austen
Jane Austen

Jane Austen was an English novelist whose Literary realism, biting social commentary and masterful use of free indirect speech, Burlesque , and irony have earned her a place as one of the most widely read and most beloved writers in English literature....
 in the early 19th Century and a muffin man is mentioned at one point in her novel, Persuasion
Persuasion (novel)

Persuasion is Jane Austen's last completed novel. She began it soon after she had finished Emma, completing it in August, 1816. She died, aged 41, in 1817, but Persuasion was not published until 1818....
. The muffins sold at this period were made of yeasted dough and baked on a hot griddle.

Muffins may well originate as far back as the 10th century, yet the muffin became a fashionable bread during the 18th century. By the beginning of th 19th century there were dozens of muffin factories in existence and the 'muffin man' was a common sight.

Muffins are a very quick baking bread and have became a tea table staple. They are usually split, toasted, buttered and then used with a savoury or sweet filling such as honey.

US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand


Muffins are commonly available for retail in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, and Australia. They are also found on the breakfast menus of American fast food
Fast food

File:2008-0614-In-N-Out-burgsfries.jpgFast food is the term given to food that can be prepared and served very quickly. While any meal with low preparation time can be considered to be fast food, typically the term refers to food sold in a restaurant or store with low quality preparation and served to the customer in a packaged form for Tak...
 restaurants worldwide. They are most often toasted then topped with butter and/or jam. They are also used in breakfast sandwich
Breakfast sandwich

A breakfast sandwich is a sandwich served for breakfast at American fast food restaurants. Breakfast sandwiches typically are made using breakfast meats, breads, egg s and cheese....
es with meat
Meat

In modern English usage, meat most often refers to animal biological tissue used as food, mostly skeletal muscle and associated fat, but it may also refer to offal, including livers, skin, brains, bone marrow, kidneys, in some countries lungs, and a variety of other internal organs as well as blood....
 (bacon
Bacon

Bacon is a cut of meat taken from the sides, belly, or back of a pig, then Curing , Smoking , or both. Meat from other animals, such as beef, Lamb and mutton, chicken, goat, or turkey , may also be cut, cured, or otherwise prepared to resemble bacon....
, ham
Ham

Ham is the thigh and rump of pork, cut from the haunch of a pig or boar. Although it may be cooked and served fresh, most ham is Curing in some fashion....
, or sausage
Sausage

A sausage is a prepared food, usually made from ground meat, animal fat, salt, and spices , typically packed in a casing . Sausage making is a traditional food preservation technique....
), egg
Egg (food)

An egg is a round or oval body laid by the female of many animals, consisting of an ovum surrounded by layers of membranes and an outer casing, which acts to nourish and protect a developing embryo and its nutrient reserves....
 (fried
Fried egg

The term fried eggs refers to Egg that are frying without breaking the yolk. Fried eggs are typically a breakfast food in English-speaking countries, but may be eaten at other times of the day or not at all in other cultures....
, scrambled, poached
Poached egg

A poached egg is an Egg that has been cooked by poaching , that is, in water. No oil or fat is used in its preparation. Poached eggs are used in Eggs Benedict and Eggs Florentine....
 or steam-poached
Poached egg (steamed)

In cooking, a traditional poached egg is prepared by immersing the egg without its shell, in simmering water.Today, however, the term is commonly applied to an alternative method whereby the egg is placed in a cup, suspended over boiling water, using a special pan called an "egg-poacher"....
) and / or cheese. They are the base ingredient in the traditional New York brunch
Brunch

Brunch or bruncheon is a combination of breakfast and lunch. The term is a portmanteau of breakfast and lunch. Brunch is often served after a morning event or prior to an afternoon one, such as a wedding or sporting event....
 dish, Eggs Benedict
Eggs Benedict

Eggs Benedict is a dish that consists of a half of an English muffin, topped with ham or bacon, poached eggs, and hollandaise sauce....
.

United Kingdom


Muffins are occasionally served as a breakfast or tea time meal. Other tea time breads such as scone
Scone

Scone can represent several things:...
s, crumpet
Crumpet

A crumpet is a savoury/sweet bread snack made from flour and yeast. It is eaten mainly in the United Kingdom, but also in the nations of the Commonwealth of Nations....
s or teacake
Teacake

This article is about a type of cake. Tea cake can also be used to describe Compressed tea. For the chocolate-covered teacake, see Chocolate-coated marshmallow treats....
s are also popular choices. A variant of the muffin is used by McDonald's
McDonald's

McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of fast food restaurants, serving nearly 58 million customers daily. McDonald's primarily sells hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chicken products, French fries, breakfast items, soft drinks, milkshakes, and desserts....
, named the McMuffin
McMuffin

The Egg McMuffin is the signature breakfast sandwich sold by the fast-food restaurant chain store McDonald's. The McMuffin is also a family of breakfast sandwiches in various sizes and configurations....
.

Further reading

English Bread and Yeast Cookery by Elizabeth David
Elizabeth David

Elizabeth David Order of the British Empire was a pre-eminent British cookery writer of the mid 20th century.David is considered responsible for bringing French cuisine and Cuisine of Italy cooking into the British home ....
, Penguin Books, 1979, contains a definitive discussion on the origins and use of the English muffin.

External links

Recipes
Brands
  • (The brand McDonald's
    McDonald's

    McDonald's Corporation is the world's largest chain of fast food restaurants, serving nearly 58 million customers daily. McDonald's primarily sells hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chicken products, French fries, breakfast items, soft drinks, milkshakes, and desserts....
     uses)
General information
  • source of main picture


See also

  • Crumpet
    Crumpet

    A crumpet is a savoury/sweet bread snack made from flour and yeast. It is eaten mainly in the United Kingdom, but also in the nations of the Commonwealth of Nations....
  • Muffin
    Muffin

    A muffin is a type of bread that is baked in small portions. Many forms are somewhat like small cakes or cupcakes in shape, although they usually are not as sweet as cupcakes and generally lack frosting....
  • McMuffin
    McMuffin

    The Egg McMuffin is the signature breakfast sandwich sold by the fast-food restaurant chain store McDonald's. The McMuffin is also a family of breakfast sandwiches in various sizes and configurations....
  • Scone (bread)
    Scone (bread)

    File:Tea and scones.jpgThe scone is a small United Kingdom quickbread of Scotland origin. Scones are especially popular in the United Kingdom, but are eaten in many other countries....