Muffins started as small cakes or rolls before muffin tins were invented. The word muffin may come from French or German. Today, muffin pans come in various sizes, shapes, and materials, including silicone. There are also a variety of paper and foil wraps available.
No breakfast buffet would be complete without the requisite muffin. Before muffin tins were made, the early muffin most likely started as a small cake or roll made as a variation of a favorite bread or cake. With the advent of muffin cups, bakers and housewives could more easily make more uniform muffins than by making them individually or with the use of muffin rings.
The word muffin can have one of two etymologies: either from the French word moufflet, meaning “soft,” or the German word, mold, or “cake.” Early muffin cups were called “gem” pans and were more oval or similar in shape to today’s round muffin cups. Baking pans produced alongside prepackaged mixes in the 1950s propelled so-called “American muffins” to the forefront of breakfast and snack foods.
Today, you can easily find the traditional muffin pan in aluminum, stainless steel, cast iron, non-stick, and the newest cooking fad, silicone. Not only do they vary in material used, but also in size, number of muffin cups per sheet, muffin shape, and theme. Muffin cups are typically mini (in 12 to 24 sheets), regular, jumbo, and king sizes. Typically, mini muffin cups measure 1.9cm deep and are 4.12cm wide at the top and 3.17cm wide at the bottom. Standard muffin cups usually have a 3.5 ounce (99 g) capacity, come in sheets of 6 to 12, and vary in size by manufacturer. Jumbo and king size muffin cups are even larger, depending on the manufacturer.
In addition to size, muffin cups come in a variety of shapes and themes. There are sheets of mini muffin cups, tube muffins, rose shaped muffin cups, pineapple shaped cups, seashells, hearts and even the alphabet. For popover lovers, many muffin cup manufacturers also make popover pans. The newest additions to muffin making include silicone muffin trays and individual silicone muffin cups for use on a cookie sheet. There are even muffin cups you can use to make muffin tops — made a pop culture icon out of a Seinfeld episode.
Alongside the variety of muffin cups is an equally diverse selection of paper and foil wraps, which help keep the muffin cups clean and make it easier to transport cupcakes and muffins. They come in a range of colors and designs to suit any party theme or occasion.
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