Muffin

One 19th-century source suggests that muffin may be related to the Greek bread , a 'cake baked on a hearth or griddle', or from Old French 'soft bread', which may have been altered into . The word is first found in print in 1703, spelled ''''; it is of uncertain origin but possibly derived from the Low German , the plural of , meaning 'small cake', or possibly with some connection to the Old French meaning 'soft', as said of bread. The expression muffin-man, meaning a street seller of muffins, is attested in a 1754 poem, which includes the line: "Hark! the shrill Muffin-Man his Carol plies." ==Quickbread muffins==

{{Infobox food Quickbread muffins (sometimes described in Britain as "American muffins") are baked, individual-sized, cupcake-shaped foods with a "moist, coarse-grained" texture. Muffins are available in both savoury varieties, such as cornmeal and cheese muffins, or sweet varieties such as blueberry, chocolate chip, lemon or banana flavours. Sweetened muffins range from lightly sweetened muffins to products that are "richer than many cakes in fat and sugar." Recipes for yeast-based muffins, which were sometimes called "common muffins" or "wheat muffins" in 19th-century American cookbooks, can be found in much older cookbooks. In Fannie Farmer's Boston Cooking-School Cook Book, she gave recipes for both quick bread muffins and English muffins. Over the years, the size and calorie content of muffins has changed: the 3-inch muffins grandmother made had only 120 to 160 calories. But today's giant bakery muffins contain from 340 to 630 calories each. Manufacture Quickbread muffins are made with flour, sieved together with bicarbonate of soda as a raising agent. To this is added butter or shortening, eggs and any flavourings (fruit, such as blueberries, chocolate or banana; or savouries, such as cheese). Commercial muffins may have "modified starches", corn syrup (or high-fructose corn syrup), xanthan gum, or guar gum to increase moisture content and lengthen shelf life (these gums can also make added solids, such as chocolate chips, disperse more evenly in the batter). they do have enough that drug tests often report false positives after a drug-free person eats a few poppyseed muffins. In one reported case the UAE jailed a man for four years after poppy seeds from a roll he had eaten at an airport were found on his clothes. Lemon is commonly paired with poppyseeds in muffin-making. Nutrition Harvard University's Nutrition Source states that while many fruit muffins may seem "...to be a better breakfast than their donut neighbors" at your local coffeeshop, with their "...often refined flours, high sodium, and plenty of added sugar...and large portion size, they're far from the optimal food choice to start your day." Consumers think that commercial muffins are a healthier choice than donuts; however, according to Registered Dietician Karen Collins, yeast or raised donuts have from 170 to 270 calories each (cake doughnuts have from 290 to 360 calories), while large bakery muffins have from 340 to 630 calories each and 11 to 27 grams of total fat. Harvard's Nutrition Source recommends smaller-sized, whole-grain muffins with reduced sugar content, liquid plant oil instead of shortening or butter, and added wholesome foods such as nuts (or nut flour), beans (or bean flour), or fresh fruit or vegetables. They were the focus of a 1997 Seinfeld sitcom episode, "The Muffin Tops" (episode 21 of season 8), where the character Elaine, who only eats the tops when she buys a muffin, realizes that a bakery selling just the tops could be successful. Once the business is running, she has to figure out what to do with the muffin bottoms, which proves difficult. In 2018, McDonald's restaurant announced they were planning to sell muffin tops as part of their McCafe breakfast menu. Bakeware and baking aids Muffin tins and muffin pans are typically metal bakeware which has round bowl-shaped depressions into which muffin batter is poured. Muffin tins or pans can be greased with butter or cooking spray, to lessen the issue of batter sticking to the pan. Alternatively, muffin cups or cases are used. Cups or cases are usually round sheets of foil, or silicone with scallop-pressed edges, giving the muffin a round cup shape. They are used in the baking of muffins to line the bottoms of muffin tins, to facilitate the easy removal of the finished muffin from the tin. The advantage to cooks is easier removal and cleanup, more precise form, and moister muffins; however, using them will prevent a crust from forming. A variety of sizes for muffin cases are available. Slightly different sizes are considered "standard" in different countries. Miniature cases are commonly in diameter at the base and tall. Standard-size cases range from in diameter at the base and are tall. Some jumbo-size cases can hold more than twice the capacity of standard cases. Australian and Swedish bakers are accustomed to taller paper cases with a larger diameter at the top than American and British bakers. Gallery of quickbread muffin flavors File:Pumpkin muffin (31373163026).jpg|Pumpkin muffins in muffin cups File:Chocolate muffin bake.jpg|A chocolate muffin File:Home made muffins.jpeg|Home-made berry muffins File:Vegan lemon poppyseed muffins (4276812235).jpg|A vegan lemon poppyseed muffin File:BlueberryMuffin.jpg|Blueberry muffin, a common flavor ==As symbols==

American muffins appear as state symbols in three US states: • The corn muffin is the official state muffin of Massachusetts. • The blueberry muffin is the official state muffin of Minnesota. ==See also==