A
muffin is a type of bread that is baked in small portions. Many forms are somewhat like small
cakeCake is a form of food that is usually sweet and often baked. Cakes normally combine some kind of flour, a sweetening agent , a binding agent , fats , a...
s or
cupcakeA cupcake or fairy cake , is a small cake designed to serve one person, frequently baked in a small, thin paper cup...
s in shape, although they usually are not as sweet as cupcakes and generally lack frosting. Savory varieties, such as
cornbreadCornbread is a generic name for any number of quick breads containing cornmeal.-History:...
muffins, also exist. They generally fit in the palm of an adult hand, and are intended to be consumed by an individual in a single sitting.
In
Commonwealth countriesThe Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the Commonwealth and previously as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-three independent member states. Most of them were formerly part of the British Empire. They co-operate within a framework of common values...
muffin can also refer to a disk-shaped
English muffinA muffin , also known as a hot muffin, or a breakfast muffin, is a round, yeast-leavened form of bread almost always dusted with cornmeal...
.
A
muffin is a type of bread that is baked in small portions. Many forms are somewhat like small
cakeCake is a form of food that is usually sweet and often baked. Cakes normally combine some kind of flour, a sweetening agent , a binding agent , fats , a...
s or
cupcakeA cupcake or fairy cake , is a small cake designed to serve one person, frequently baked in a small, thin paper cup...
s in shape, although they usually are not as sweet as cupcakes and generally lack frosting. Savory varieties, such as
cornbreadCornbread is a generic name for any number of quick breads containing cornmeal.-History:...
muffins, also exist. They generally fit in the palm of an adult hand, and are intended to be consumed by an individual in a single sitting.
In
Commonwealth countriesThe Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the Commonwealth and previously as the British Commonwealth, is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-three independent member states. Most of them were formerly part of the British Empire. They co-operate within a framework of common values...
muffin can also refer to a disk-shaped
English muffinA muffin , also known as a hot muffin, or a breakfast muffin, is a round, yeast-leavened form of bread almost always dusted with cornmeal...
. As American-style muffins are also sold in Commonwealth countries, the term
muffin can refer to either product, with the context usually making clear which is meant.
There are many varieties and flavors of muffins made with a specific ingredient such as blueberries, chocolate chips, cucumbers, raspberry, cinnamon, pumpkin, date, nut, lemon, banana, orange, peach, strawberry, boysenberry, almond, and carrot, baked into the muffin. Muffins are often eaten for breakfast; alternatively, they may be served for
teaTea can refer to any of several different meals or mealtimes depending on a country's customs and its history of drinking tea. However in those countries where its use is common the influences are generally those of the former British Empire .- Africa :Afternoon tea has fallen off in popularity,...
or at other meals.
Modern history
A somewhat odd combination of circumstances in the 1970s and 1980s led to significant changes in what had been a rather simple, if not prosaic, food. The decline in home-baking, the
health foodHealth food is a term that has been used in the United States since the 1920s and refers to specific foods claimed to be especially beneficial to health....
movement, the rise of the specialty food shop, and the gourmet coffee trend all contributed to the creation of a new standard of muffin.
PreservativeA preservative is a natural or synthetic chemical that is added to products such as foods, pharmaceuticals, paints, biological samples, wood, etc. to prevent decomposition by microbial growth or by undesirable chemical changes.-Preservatives in wood:...
s in muffin mixes led to the expectation that muffins did not have to go stale within hours of baking, but the resulting muffins were not a taste improvement over homemade. On the other hand, the baked muffin, even if from a mix, seemed almost healthy compared to the fat-laden alternatives of doughnuts and
Danish pastryDanish pastry, or simply Danish, is a sweet pastry which has become a speciality of Denmark and the neighbouring Scandinavian countries and is popular throughout the industrialized world, although the form it takes can differ significantly from country to country.Danish pastry is, like the...
. "Healthy" muffin recipes using
whole grainWholegrains are cereal grains that contain bran and germ as well as the endosperm, in contrast to refined grains, which retain only the endosperm. Wholegrains can generally be sprouted while processed grains generally will not sprout...
s and such "natural" things as yogurt and various
vegetableA vegetable is an edible plant or part of a plant. However, the word is not scientific, and its meaning is largely based on culinary and cultural tradition. Therefore the application of the word is somewhat arbitrary and subjective. For example, some people consider mushrooms to be vegetables,...
s evolved rapidly. But for "healthy" muffins to have any shelf-life without artificial preservatives, the
sugarSugar is a class of edible crystalline substances, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose. Human taste buds interpret its flavor as sweet. Sugar as a basic food carbohydrate primarily comes from sugar cane and from sugar beet, but also appears in fruit, honey, sorghum, sugar maple , and in many...
and fat content needed to be increased, to the point where the "muffins" are almost indistinguishable from
cupcakeA cupcake or fairy cake , is a small cake designed to serve one person, frequently baked in a small, thin paper cup...
s. The rising market for gourmet snacks to accompany gourmet coffees resulted in fancier concoctions in greater bulk than the original, modestly sized corn muffin.
The marketing trend toward larger portion sizes also resulted in new muffin pan types for home-baking, not only for increased size. Since the area ratio of muffin top to muffin bottom changed considerably when the traditional small round exploded into a giant
mushroomA mushroom is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. The standard for the name "mushroom" is the cultivated white button mushroom, Agaricus bisporus, hence the word mushroom is most often applied to those fungi that have...
, consumers became more aware of the difference between the soft texture of tops, allowed to rise unfettered, and rougher, tougher bottoms restricted by the pans. There was a brief foray into pans that could produce "all-top" muffins, i.e., extremely shallow, large-diameter cups. The TV sitcom
SeinfeldSeinfeld is an American television sitcom that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, lasting nine seasons, and is now in syndication. The eponymous series was created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld, with the latter starring as a fictionalized version of himself...
made reference to this in an episode in which the character
Elaine BenesElaine Marie Benes is a fictional character on the American television sitcom Seinfeld , played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Elaine's best friend is her ex-boyfriend Jerry Seinfeld; she is also good friends with George Costanza and Cosmo Kramer.Julia Louis-Dreyfus received extensive critical acclaim...
co-owns a bakery named "Top o' the Muffin to You!" that sold only the muffin tops (see The Muffin Tops (Seinfeld episode)). Along with the increasing size of muffins is a contrary trend of extremely small muffins. It is now very common to see muffin pans or premade muffins that are only one or two inches in diameter.
English Muffin
The
English muffinA muffin , also known as a hot muffin, or a breakfast muffin, is a round, yeast-leavened form of bread almost always dusted with cornmeal...
is very different from the variety described on this page. The "English muffin" is yeast leavened and predates the baking powder leavened muffins. This produces a type of muffin with a thick, fluffy pastry and is usually baked as a disk typically about 8 cm in
diameterIn geometry, a diameter of a circle is any straight line segment that passes through the center of the circle and whose endpoints are on the circle. The diameters are the longest chords of the circle...
. It is usually split into two,
toastToast is sliced bread which has been browned by exposure to dry heat . This browning reaction is a form of the Maillard reaction. Toasting warms the bread, making it more pleasant to eat for some, and makes it crisp such that it holds toppings more securely. Toasting is also a common method of...
ed and
butterButter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk. It is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications such as baking, sauce making, and frying...
ed, and bears a vague resemblance to a
crumpetA crumpet is a savoury/sweet bread snack made from flour and yeast. It is eaten mainly in the United Kingdom and other nations of the Commonwealth.- Etymology :...
or
pikeletPikelet can refer to either:*A small, thick pancake, generally in Australia, New Zealand and parts of Britain. Also known in parts of the United Kingdom as a drop-scone or Scotch pancake. See Pancake....
. It also is eaten cold with a hot drink at coffee shops and diners. In her
Boston Cooking-School Cook BookThe Boston Cooking-School Cook Book by Fannie Merritt Farmer is a 19th century general reference cookbook which is still available both in reprint and in updated form...
,
Fannie FarmerFannie Merritt Farmer was an American culinary expert whose Boston Cooking-School Cook Book became a widely used culinary text.-Biography:...
gave recipes for both types of muffins, distinguishing between "raised" and adding instructions for a version that is nearly identical to today's "English muffin." Here the raised-muffin mixture was cooked in muffin rings on a
griddleA griddle is a piece of cooking equipment. In the industrial world usually it is a flat plate of metal . In the non-industrial world, and in traditional cultures, the griddle may be a stone or brick slab or tablet. It is used over an open flame, or on a stove, to cook many foods, including many...
and flipped to brown both sides, producing a grilled muffin. Farmer indicated this was a useful method when baking in an oven was not practical.
Corn Muffin
Muffins made from
cornmealCornmeal is flour ground from dried corn. It is a common staple food, and is ground to fine, medium, and coarse consistencies. In the United States, the finely ground cornmeal is also referred to as cornflour...
are popular in the United States. Though corn muffins can simply be muffin shaped
cornbreadCornbread is a generic name for any number of quick breads containing cornmeal.-History:...
, corn muffins tend to be sweeter. Similar to the pan variety, corn muffins can be eaten with butter or as a side dish with stews or chili.
Muffin paper cups
Muffin paper cups are round sheets of
paperPaper is thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon or for packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....
, foil or metal, with scallop-pressed edges, giving the muffin a round cup shape. Their shape can be compared to that of a disposable
coffee filterA coffee filter is a coffee-brewing utensil, usually made of disposable paper. A stainless steel filter is used to prepare Indian filter coffee, the form of coffee common in India.-History:...
. Muffin paper cups are used to line the bottoms of muffin pans, used in the baking of muffins to facilitate the easy removal of the finished
pastryPastry is the name given to various kinds of baked goods made from ingredients such as flour, butter, shortening, baking powder or eggs. Small cakes, tarts and other sweet baked goods are called "pastries"....
from the muffin tin.
The advantage to cooks is easier removal and cleanup, more precise form, and moister muffins; however, using them will prevent a crust.
Muffins as symbols
The corn muffin is the official state muffin of
MassachusettsThe Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. Most of its population of...
.
The blueberry muffin is the official state muffin of
MinnesotaMinnesota is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. The twelfth largest state by area in the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.2 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the...
.