Majida Rashid
One should eat muffins quite calmly. It’s the only way to eat.
– Oscar Wilde
While we generally think muffins are sweet and a little spongy like a cake, originally they were made with leftover bread, biscuit dough, and potatoes. It’s believed that muffins originated in Wales. Muffin dough was formed into small spheres, flattened a little, and then cooked either on a stovetop or on a skillet hanging above the wood fire in the fireplace.
Muffins were brought to America in the 19th century by British immigrants, hence the name English muffins. English muffins sold across America still resemble the original ones. They are round, flat, small and made with yeast. Each muffin needs to be sliced horizontally, toasted and then served with butter and jam.
The invention of baking powder around the mid-19th century upgraded muffins. Thanks to the ingenious cooks of America for modifying the recipe to make muffins more delectable than the original ones. Over time American muffins became so popular that they were served for breakfast and later they accompanied tea or coffee.
Rumor is that Thomas Jefferson really liked muffins and when he moved to Washington as the president, his French chef couldn’t make muffins to Jefferson’s satisfaction. So, in a letter to his daughter, Martha, Jefferson asks her to teach them how to make muffins properly.
American muffins like cupcakes have rounded tops and are sweet, though some are savory as well. Even though cupcakes and muffins use the same basic ingredients like flour, fat, eggs and sugar, muffins are denser and use oil or liquid fat. They are also less sweet than cupcakes.
With the increase in their popularity, different states adapted various types of muffins. Minnesota lays claim to blueberries muffins; corn muffins are Massachusetts’ favorite; and New York boasts apple muffins. The honor of celebrating muffins in America goes to the month of February.
A lot of coffee shops and bakeries across the U.S. sell Danish muffins, something I saw only in America.
Americans are not the only ones to have adapted English muffins to their taste. Muffins in Southern African countries were similar to the American ones. I used to write weekly food columns in Mmegi Monitor and Botswana Guardian. By chance I recently stumbled upon an old column of mine in Mmegi Monitor in which I had written about muffins — a recipe I developed using the local ingredient called Madila. It is made with fermented fresh milk and yogurt. It has lots of curd and doesn’t have much liquid.
The following recipe is inspired by Madila Muffins. They are easy and quick to make.
I modified the ingredients. Alas, I couldn’t make or find Madila, so I used yogurt as a substitute. I also happened to have whole nutmegs that I had purchased from Seychelle, which is a haven for fresh vanilla beans, cinnamon and nutmeg. It’s worth buying whole nutmegs. Nothing matches the delightful fragrance of freshly grated nutmeg.
Yogurt Muffins
(Serves 4-6)
Ingredients
1 cup yogurt
1 cup oats
1 cup sifted flour
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup oil
Directions
Mix together the yogurt and the oats and leave aside for 30 minutes.
Grate the nutmeg.
Oil and flour 12 muffin tins and leave aside.
Sift the flour before measuring it.
Pre-heat oven to 400°F.
Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg and sift again.
Beat the egg and sugar with an electric beater until no trace of white are left and the mixture turns pale.
Add the oil and beat again to get an emulsion.
Stir the oat mixture once and add it to the emulsion.
Mix with an electric beater.
Add the flour-nutmeg mixture to the oats, a little at a time.
Mix until all the ingredients are well blended.
Pour into the prepared muffin tins.
Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until they turn golden brown.
Remove from the oven and allow them to cool for five minutes.
Loosen the sides with a knife and take them out.
Transfer onto a serving dish and enjoy with tea or coffee.
—————
Foodie Majida Rashid lives in Texas. Food and cooking are her passion. Her presentation about her love of food can be viewed on USA Today’s network: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0xi566VSPo – We Spread Love Through Food
@Frontiers_Of_Flavor
Her philosophical writing can be read at apakistaniwomansjourney.wordpress.com.
– Oscar Wilde
While we generally think muffins are sweet and a little spongy like a cake, originally they were made with leftover bread, biscuit dough, and potatoes. It’s believed that muffins originated in Wales. Muffin dough was formed into small spheres, flattened a little, and then cooked either on a stovetop or on a skillet hanging above the wood fire in the fireplace.
Muffins were brought to America in the 19th century by British immigrants, hence the name English muffins. English muffins sold across America still resemble the original ones. They are round, flat, small and made with yeast. Each muffin needs to be sliced horizontally, toasted and then served with butter and jam.
The invention of baking powder around the mid-19th century upgraded muffins. Thanks to the ingenious cooks of America for modifying the recipe to make muffins more delectable than the original ones. Over time American muffins became so popular that they were served for breakfast and later they accompanied tea or coffee.
Rumor is that Thomas Jefferson really liked muffins and when he moved to Washington as the president, his French chef couldn’t make muffins to Jefferson’s satisfaction. So, in a letter to his daughter, Martha, Jefferson asks her to teach them how to make muffins properly.
American muffins like cupcakes have rounded tops and are sweet, though some are savory as well. Even though cupcakes and muffins use the same basic ingredients like flour, fat, eggs and sugar, muffins are denser and use oil or liquid fat. They are also less sweet than cupcakes.
With the increase in their popularity, different states adapted various types of muffins. Minnesota lays claim to blueberries muffins; corn muffins are Massachusetts’ favorite; and New York boasts apple muffins. The honor of celebrating muffins in America goes to the month of February.
A lot of coffee shops and bakeries across the U.S. sell Danish muffins, something I saw only in America.
Americans are not the only ones to have adapted English muffins to their taste. Muffins in Southern African countries were similar to the American ones. I used to write weekly food columns in Mmegi Monitor and Botswana Guardian. By chance I recently stumbled upon an old column of mine in Mmegi Monitor in which I had written about muffins — a recipe I developed using the local ingredient called Madila. It is made with fermented fresh milk and yogurt. It has lots of curd and doesn’t have much liquid.
The following recipe is inspired by Madila Muffins. They are easy and quick to make.
I modified the ingredients. Alas, I couldn’t make or find Madila, so I used yogurt as a substitute. I also happened to have whole nutmegs that I had purchased from Seychelle, which is a haven for fresh vanilla beans, cinnamon and nutmeg. It’s worth buying whole nutmegs. Nothing matches the delightful fragrance of freshly grated nutmeg.
Yogurt Muffins
(Serves 4-6)
Ingredients
1 cup yogurt
1 cup oats
1 cup sifted flour
2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup oil
Directions
Mix together the yogurt and the oats and leave aside for 30 minutes.
Grate the nutmeg.
Oil and flour 12 muffin tins and leave aside.
Sift the flour before measuring it.
Pre-heat oven to 400°F.
Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg and sift again.
Beat the egg and sugar with an electric beater until no trace of white are left and the mixture turns pale.
Add the oil and beat again to get an emulsion.
Stir the oat mixture once and add it to the emulsion.
Mix with an electric beater.
Add the flour-nutmeg mixture to the oats, a little at a time.
Mix until all the ingredients are well blended.
Pour into the prepared muffin tins.
Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until they turn golden brown.
Remove from the oven and allow them to cool for five minutes.
Loosen the sides with a knife and take them out.
Transfer onto a serving dish and enjoy with tea or coffee.
—————
Foodie Majida Rashid lives in Texas. Food and cooking are her passion. Her presentation about her love of food can be viewed on USA Today’s network: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0xi566VSPo – We Spread Love Through Food
@Frontiers_Of_Flavor
Her philosophical writing can be read at apakistaniwomansjourney.wordpress.com.
