# English \[sic\] muffins \[sic\]? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 2, 2010, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-sic-muffins-sic/531046 "2010-03-02T22:17:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hilarity_n.suze/32/6223_2.png) [@Hilarity\_N.Suze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hilarity_N.Suze)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-sic-muffins-sic/531046/1 "2010-03-02T22:17:05Z")
Okay, I love these things, but apparently they are not English, nor are they like any other muffins I have encountered. I figured there must be a column about it, but search has failed me, as usual. What is the actual English/British equivalent? Crumpets? They seem a little different. I know when an English person says “Biscuit” they really mean a cookie. I’ve had–and made–a variety of scones, but none of them seemed much like the typical American English muffin at all. So what would I ask for if I wanted one of these and I was in, say, Ireland? (Put here because it’s about food; it might be a GQ though) ---
**Author:** ![Captain\_Amazing](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@Captain\_Amazing](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Captain_Amazing)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-sic-muffins-sic/531046/2 "2010-03-02T22:21:58Z")
This person argues that English muffins actually are English. > **[The Great Muffin Mystery](https://www.imaginatorium.org/words/muffin.htm)** > > Sorting out the names: are what the Americans call 'English muffins' really muffins from England? ---
**Author:** ![Icarus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/icarus/32/72_2.png) [@Icarus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Icarus)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-sic-muffins-sic/531046/3 "2010-03-02T22:23:56Z")
According to Wikipedia - not quite the same thing: [English Muffin](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_muffin) [Crumpet](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crumpet) ---
**Author:** ![Kal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Kal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kal)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-sic-muffins-sic/531046/4 "2010-03-02T22:47:42Z")
Dunno about Ireland, but in England ‘English muffins’ are known as muffins, breakfast muffins, English muffins, all butter muffins and god knows what else. It depends on what the maker has printed on the packet. But, yeah, we do have English muffins here. And crumpets. And pikelets. And American style, giant cupcake, muffins. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-sic-muffins-sic/531046/5 "2010-03-02T23:07:31Z")
> [@Captain\_Amazing](#): > > This person argues that English muffins actually are English. > > [The Great Muffin Mystery](http://www.imaginatorium.org/words/muffin.htm) Indeed they are. It appears that, for some reason, Americans appropriated the word “muffin” to refer to the giant cupcake things, and so had to start calling actual muffins “English muffins” so as to be able to tell the the difference. Crumpets are, indeed, quite different, and they are available in America if you look. At any rate, supermarkets around here (southern California) stock them. They do tend to have a Union Jack logo on the packaging, but they are clearly locally produced. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2010, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-sic-muffins-sic/531046/6 "2010-03-02T23:58:25Z")
I’m a Merkin’ so you’ll have to forgive. I understand that a cupcake-like item in the US is called a “muffin.” Almost always with a descriptive before the term “muffin.” I want a blueberry muffin, please. Cranberry-nut muffin, etc. But I still can’t see the difference between a crumpet and what we call in the US an “English Muffin”–pre-baked/toasted on both sides, you have to split it open, has all those wonderfull holes, etc. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-sic-muffins-sic/531046/7 "2010-03-03T00:06:10Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > I’m a Merkin’ so you’ll have to forgive. > > I understand that a cupcake-like item in the US is called a “muffin.” Almost always with a descriptive before the term “muffin.” I want a blueberry muffin, please. Cranberry-nut muffin, etc. > > But I still can’t see the difference between a crumpet and what we call in the US an “English Muffin”–pre-baked/toasted on both sides, you have to split it open, has all those wonderfull holes, etc. From my experience (although I am an American, too), a crumpet is only cooked on one side (or at least mostly on one side), an the dimples form on the other side of the crumpet. An “English” muffin is cooked on both sides, and the dimples occur when you cut it in half. It’s also more bready than a crumpet. ---
**Author:** ![wolfman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a8b319/32.png) [@wolfman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfman)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-sic-muffins-sic/531046/8 "2010-03-03T01:08:54Z")
Does England have egg McMuffins on English muffins. Or do you eat McCrumpets or something wierd. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-sic-muffins-sic/531046/9 "2010-03-03T01:22:11Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > I understand that a cupcake-like item in the US is called a “muffin.” And what is such a thing called in the UK? ---
**Author:** ![WotNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e19b73/32.png) [@WotNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WotNot)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 8:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-sic-muffins-sic/531046/10 "2010-03-03T08:53:47Z")
> [@samclem](#): > > But I still can’t see the difference between a crumpet and what we call in the US an “English Muffin”–pre-baked/toasted on both sides, you have to split it open, has all those wonderfull holes, etc. They have an entirely different texture, for one thing. Also, crumpets aren’t split – I don’t think it’s actually possible to split a crumpet in the same way as a muffin. > [@wolfman](#): > > Does England have egg McMuffins on English muffins. Or do you eat McCrumpets or something wierd. Egg McMuffins are on muffins, just as they are in the US. Why would they be different? > [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > And what is such a thing called in the UK? They’re called muffins – usually with a qualifier such as “blueberry” or “chocolate” as appropriate. We don’t have any problem with this – the word “pudding” has at least half a dozen different meanings, and no-one ever gets confused. The history of the “English” muffin in England (as far as I’ve been able to discover so far) seems to be this: Muffins were a common product into the early twentieth century– typically sold on the streets and door-to-door by Muffin Men (as in the children’s song), they were a popular feature of afternoon tea. They seem to have become increasing scarce due to the shortages and rationing in the First and Second World Wars, essentially disappearing in many areas. In the late 1960s/early 1970s, though, the large national and regional bakers were looking for products to expand their ranges in the supermarkets that were taking over food retail, and reintroduced muffins in the prepackaged form we now have. ---
**Author:** ![Elvis\_Chimney](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/50afbb/32.png) [@Elvis\_Chimney](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elvis_Chimney)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-sic-muffins-sic/531046/11 "2010-03-03T12:00:40Z")
We call US-style muffins muffins, but we call English muffins muffins also. Context is king. The key difference as I see it betwixt crumpet and muffin, is that a (English) muffin is an unsweetened bread product, whereas a crumpet is sweeter, with a pancakey texture. They may appear superficially similar but they taste quite different. I haven’t eaten a crumpet in years, but my Mum sometimes bought them when I was little, and the ones she bought were wider and flatter, similar to big pancake. I don’t know whether that’s a Scottish thing or not though. I might need to nip in to Greggs the Bakers at some point soon and check to see what they look like now. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2010, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/english-sic-muffins-sic/531046/12 "2010-03-03T12:14:42Z")
Here in Ireland muffin means the American cupcake type thingy. I dunno if you can buy English muffins here in supermarkets but I’ve definitely had crumpets.