one_raven
08-02-04, 04:33 AM
My friend Erin and I were discussing Thomas' English Muffins the other day at breakfast.
Please disregard the fact that they are not "English" at all (nor "muffins", for that matter) for sake of this discussion.
Most of us are aware of the the long-running ad campaign centered around said "muffins" being so good because of all the nooks and crannies they each posess.
The discussion led to the fact that we both feel that the muffins have changed over the years and the nooks and/or crannies seems much smaller and less impressive these days.
This made us realize that neither of us knew precicely what the difference between a "nook" and a "cranny" is, and how, if at all, it enhances the "English Muffin" dining experience.
I looked the two words up today and below you will find the definitions I encountered and my assessment of the situation.
nook-
NOUN: 1. A small corner, alcove, or recess, especially one in a large room. 2. A hidden or secluded spot.
ETYMOLOGY: Middle English nok, probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Norwegian dialectal nk, hook.
cranny-
NOUN: A small opening, as in a wall or rock face; a crevice.
ETYMOLOGY: Middle English crani, perhaps alteration of Old French cren, cran, notch, from *crener, to notch.
Seems to me that the nooks are the little "bowls" -the holes that are "sealed", for all intents and purposes- and act as little holders for your choice of spread. The crannies, on the other hand, are the "cracks" -the ones that are not sealed- and serve to distribute the spread within the muffin itself via a process similar to osmosis. It is the nooks that help the muffins hold a respectable amount of spread on the surface by increasing the actual surface area itself over the "flat" surface of other toasted dough foodstuffs, such as bread, in addition to providing a rough surface with greater friction for the spread to cling to. Whereas the crannies enhance your toasted dough experience by wicking the spread into the inner recesses and into the fully internal nooks that have experienced one or more structural integrity fractures via the process of: "proofing" (rising due to active yeast creating the nooks themselves), toasting, blunt trauma due to the spreading procedure or any combination thereof.
I also think that the relatively large size and thin-walled structure of the nooks play a major role in facilitating the crucnchiness of the "muffins" upon toasting.
I am not sure that the crannies would play much of a role in this other than the slight increase of heat induction to the internal nooks by way of a minute increase in internal air flow allowing the nooks in the recesses of the "muffins" to toast more evenly and more quickly.
What do you think?
Please disregard the fact that they are not "English" at all (nor "muffins", for that matter) for sake of this discussion.
Most of us are aware of the the long-running ad campaign centered around said "muffins" being so good because of all the nooks and crannies they each posess.
The discussion led to the fact that we both feel that the muffins have changed over the years and the nooks and/or crannies seems much smaller and less impressive these days.
This made us realize that neither of us knew precicely what the difference between a "nook" and a "cranny" is, and how, if at all, it enhances the "English Muffin" dining experience.
I looked the two words up today and below you will find the definitions I encountered and my assessment of the situation.
nook-
NOUN: 1. A small corner, alcove, or recess, especially one in a large room. 2. A hidden or secluded spot.
ETYMOLOGY: Middle English nok, probably of Scandinavian origin; akin to Norwegian dialectal nk, hook.
cranny-
NOUN: A small opening, as in a wall or rock face; a crevice.
ETYMOLOGY: Middle English crani, perhaps alteration of Old French cren, cran, notch, from *crener, to notch.
Seems to me that the nooks are the little "bowls" -the holes that are "sealed", for all intents and purposes- and act as little holders for your choice of spread. The crannies, on the other hand, are the "cracks" -the ones that are not sealed- and serve to distribute the spread within the muffin itself via a process similar to osmosis. It is the nooks that help the muffins hold a respectable amount of spread on the surface by increasing the actual surface area itself over the "flat" surface of other toasted dough foodstuffs, such as bread, in addition to providing a rough surface with greater friction for the spread to cling to. Whereas the crannies enhance your toasted dough experience by wicking the spread into the inner recesses and into the fully internal nooks that have experienced one or more structural integrity fractures via the process of: "proofing" (rising due to active yeast creating the nooks themselves), toasting, blunt trauma due to the spreading procedure or any combination thereof.
I also think that the relatively large size and thin-walled structure of the nooks play a major role in facilitating the crucnchiness of the "muffins" upon toasting.
I am not sure that the crannies would play much of a role in this other than the slight increase of heat induction to the internal nooks by way of a minute increase in internal air flow allowing the nooks in the recesses of the "muffins" to toast more evenly and more quickly.
What do you think?