Wednesday, July 23, 2008

The Demise of the Muffin

In the interest of clarity, I should have perhaps called this post, The Demise of the English Muffin, but out of stubborness, I didn't.

It has come to my attention that the word Muffin has now come to mean what we used to call an American Muffin. That is an individual sweet cake with a distinctive top and stem shape, often flavoured with chocolate or blueberries. But it wasn't always this way.

We had our own muffins, it didn't need to be described as English and those other things, were called cakes.



I was musing this recently (my mind being a strange place) and it transpired that my own OH didn't even know what a muffin was. After half an hour of failing to describe one to him, I determined to educate him. I bought a packet and served it toasted. He liked it but now insists on having it with Marmite, which I find rather wrong.

So muffins have made it onto our monthly shop, which we do online. Only this time, they are all out of muffins (have I somehow started a revival?) and send crumpets instead. I like crumpets, but they aren't the same thing, and it may be a bread product too far for the OH.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

Excellent post! Why are online shopping substitutions always so badly thought through?

Muffins do not equal crumpets!

SandDancer said...

Hello!

I was given passion fruit instead of mangoes the last time. I never have the heart to decline the substitutions so always accept them.

Mellifluous Dark said...

I want muffins. Now. The proper muffin, as you say. Toasted and buttered – delicious!

SandDancer said...

All I can offer you is crumpets, I'm afraid.

Anonymous said...

Here, we have muffins and English muffins, and I've never, ever even once thought of them in the same category of foods. One is for breakfast, the other dessert. Never the two shall meet!

And I don't even know what a crumpet is. :) Heard of it, never seen one in person, as far as I know. :)

cogidubnus said...

Muffins are good...but sadly I was always brought up to regard them as effete and inferior crumpets, and find it difficult to fight off my childhood conditioning...I think it was one of those class things, with us workers having crumpets for tea, and the posh bastards having muffins...

Still it's better than "letting them eat cake" !

SandDancer said...

M - a crumpet is something else that you have toasted. It is quite spongey and has lots of little holes on the top.

Cogi - I didn't realise there was a class distinction. We ate both in my house. And pikelets too.