Q: Why can’t I keep my homemade muffins tasting fresh and staying moist as long as the commercial muffins seem to? These super-huge muffins at coffee shops seem so moist, and if I take half of one home it stays moist. But when I make smaller muffins at home, they dry out so quickly.
A: You are probably working from different types of recipes. Homemade, old-fashioned muffins have less sugar and less fat than quick breads or cakes. That’s healthier. But it’s the fat and sugar that hold moisture in and keep things moist.
That’s the chemistry of baked goods. Starch and sugar absorb the liquid in the batter. If fat can coat the starch, then the moisture is trapped and the muffin stays moist.
The difference between muffins and cakes is that muffin batter should be mixed only enough to moisten it. If you beat muffin batter enough to spread the little bit of fat around evenly so it could coat the starch, then the muffin would be coarse, have big tunnels through it, and probably get those high, cracked peaks. That’s because beating develops the protein in the flour and makes it stretchy. Then it traps the gas from the baking powder, which makes big air bubbles and tunnels.
A lot of commercial muffins are basically cake batter baked in muffin cups. There’s more fat and more sugar to hold the moisture and less flour to trap the air bubbles. And the flour is more likely to be cake flour, which has less protein and won’t get stretchy if you beat it enough to put lots of air bubbles into it.
So you can make cupcakes, call them muffins and have them stay moist longer. Or you can make traditional muffins. If they won’t stay moist until you can eat them all, freeze half the batch. When you’ve finished the first half, thaw the second. They’ll be like new.
Q: Is there any truth to using oregano or oregano oil to help calm upset stomachs? A relative has started using it almost every day. She says it helps her stomach. Would it, really?
A: The PDR for Herbal Remedies and the Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database say that oil of oregano is sometimes taken by mouth for respiratory tract disorders such as cough, asthma and bronchitis. It’s also used for painful periods, arthritis, urinary tract disorders, headaches and a variety of other complaints. They do say it is sometimes used for gastrointestinal disorders such as bloating, and to treat intestinal parasites. It’s used on the skin for numerous other conditions from acne to warts. It is considered “Generally Recognized As Safe,” an FDA category of food additives, when oregano is used in foods. It is considered “Possibly Safe” when used “appropriately in medicinal amounts,” except for pregnant women.
The typical dose is one cup of tea made with one heaping teaspoon of leaf in boiling water. The references also say that the oil is possibly effective for intestinal parasites, but that there is not enough reliable information about any of the other uses to recommend it.
For parasites, the amount is 200 milligrams, about 7 ounces (or almost a cupful), taken three times a day for six weeks. Other than that, it’s probably not a problem, but probably not helping anything.
Article source: http://www2.tbo.com/lifestyles/life/2012/feb/19/banewso5-its-tough-to-make-super-moist-muffins-ar-360057/
