HISTORY OF MUFFINS

Evening Star, Issue 20055, 21 December 1928, Page 7

HISTORY OF MUFFINS

THEIR ROYAL ASSOCIATIONS Georgs 1., the first Hanoverian king to rule England, was a muffin eater, and he declined to patronise any but those which weft prepared in the Royal kitchen. George 11., too, retained a special cook, whose sole duty was to prepare muffins for his august master, and George 111., while ready to place an order with a London baker, was so afraid of flying in the face of the castiron custom of the Court that he dare not do as he would have liked to iiavo clone. His successor, George IV., however, elected to,, deal with a certain establishment located in a small street in .the heart of central London; and when William IV. ascended the throne he also patronised the happy baker. Finally, the fortunate, man after serving two kings, was appointed muffin maker to Queen Victoria; and in due cobrse King Edward VII. was laid at rest King George recognised the long-estab* lished claims of the little shop, and graciously accorded tho pleased proprietor his patronage. Although the homely British baker and his wife who inherited tho business had to eke out the Royal patronage by sellinft muffins to regular customers, their hope and pride were centred in the orders, .which, during the late autumn, winter, and early spring months, reached them from Buckingham Palace. As a rule, the Royal cook despatched a scullion first thing in the morning with the order, so that the muffins could reach the King’s 5 o’clock tea table in the freshest possible state. There are several ways of makiflg muffins, each recipe being of considerable antiquity. The following is the one employed for the Royal table. The ingredients are one quart of milk to every lioz compressed yeast, a tablespoonful of flour, and half the quantity of salt, The milk is well warmer] before being poured over the yeast. As soon as the mixture begins to ferment tho flour is added, the wholeI',being 1 ',being stirred till a soft dough is formed. The concoction is then covered ■ by' a cloth and left till it vises, when it is cut into pieces and rounded to a diameter of two and a-half inches. Tiler, .muffins are next placed in a two-inch layer of flour on wooden trays, returned to the oven and allowed to rise till they become almost globular in shape. The browning process is an operation requiring considerable delicacy of treatment. The muffins are laid on ■a hot, plate and baked till they ate slightly browned, every care being taken that both sides acquire the same tint. If the baker is careless the browning may be overdone, thus ruining the taste of the muffin. The Royal muffin is toasted before a clear fire, divided by being pulled open, buttered- well on r the inner side, put together again, and halved.«