By the 19th century muffin men walked the streets of England at tea time to sell their muffins. They wore trays of English muffins on their heads and rang their bells to call customers to their wares.
English muffin history dates all the way back to the 10th and 11th centuries in Wales. Early English muffins were cooked in muffin rings which were hooplike and placed directly on a stove or the bottom of a skillet. English muffins were made from yeast dough, in contrast to the quick bread muffins served in early America.
American style muffins are 'quick breads' made in individual molds. Quick breads (chemically leavened as opposed to yeast leavened) were not developed until the end of the 18th century. This took place in America, where pearlash was discovered.
Pearlash is a refined form of potash, and it produces carbon dioxide gas in dough. In 'American Cookery' (1796 - the first American cook book) Amelia Simmons published recipes using pearlash, and were exported some 8,000 tons to Europe in 1792. Baking powder was not developed commercially until 1857 (phosphate baking powder).
Muffin became widely used as a breakfast food because they were easy to prepare and cook in a short period of time. Because muffins grew stale so quickly, they were not marketed as a baked good until the middle of the 20th century.
Three states in the United States of America have adopted official muffins. Minnesota has adopted the blueberry muffin as the official state muffin. Massachusetts in 1986 adopted the Corn Muffin as the official state muffin. Then in 1987 New York took on the Apple Muffin as its official muffin of choice.
Muffins have become increasingly popular as a hot bread served with meals or eaten as a snack. Freshly baked muffins are served in restaurants and bakeries and consumers can buy packaged ready-to-eat muffins from grocery stores and vending machines.
Packaged muffins mixes were introduced to the market place in the 1950’s. Muffins were marketed as an alternative to donuts in the 1960’s.
Muffin in history
