Here is a “little” note about scones…
I once heard a song from Hobo Johnson called Peach Scone. I don’t listen to his music very often, but I do love his quirkiness.
I think that’s the first time I heard about scones. And to be honest, that song put scones on the map for me and I figured they must be delicious if there’s a whole song about them.
The song talks a bit about scones, but is not really about scones…but that’s beside the point.
Anyways, before our trip to the UK, we met three British girls on a hike in Latvia (story for another time).
I asked them what things I should not do as a tourist in the UK.
The first thing they mentioned was the proper way of eating a scone!
They explained how a scone is eaten. And that eating scones is a ritual to be taken seriously.
And I realized in that moment. Man, I gotta try these scones.
So our a new mission for our road trip was to find the best scones in the UK!
Before we jump into the ritual, let’s clarify. Wtf is a scone?
Here is a short and punchy description from my dear friend ChatGPT:
I even left the double dashes so you know it was generated by Ai 😉.
I can summarize it as just heave on earth, to be honest.
My favorite are the lightly sweet ones. The traditional sweet ones are plain or what they call fruit scone. Which is a scone with raisins! Yum.
They serve it with clotted cream and jam.
Clotted cream is like whip cream that was about turn to butter, but they stopped the process. So it has the fluffiness of the whip cream and a bit the consistency of butter.
Here is a picture.
Also, it’s important to point out that historians suspect that scone originated from Scotland in the early 1500s. Originally, they were made with oats. Over time the recipe evolved, especially in England, and now it’s made out of wheat flour, butter, and baking powder.
So, back to the ritual.
You cut the scone in half. How you do this, I’m not so sure. I once read that you actually separate the scone with your hands and don’t use a knife.
I always used a knife.
And depending on where you’re from, here is where things get spicy.
If you’re from an area in England called Devon, you put the cream first and then the jam.
But, if you’re from the next-door region called Cornwall, you put the jam first and then the cream.
I kid you not, this is a MASSIVE deal in England.
So much so, that once you mention scones to locals the first question is: how do you eat it?
And if you answer the opposite of what they do, then a fun discussion starts.
Yvonne and I tried both ways. And to be honest, the one where the jam goes first and the clotted team on top tasted the best.
I even found a book of a lady who tried every scone from all the different National Trusts around the country. The National Trust is a UK charity that preserves and protects historic places and natural spaces. They pretty much own a bunch of land and have a tea room in every touristy spot.
In the introduction of the book, the author emphasizes that the book is not here to debate which way of eating a scone is best. I found that fascinating.
Another interesting fact is that in the regions of Devon and Cornwall, they have a thing called Cream Tea.
It is is black tea with 2 scones! The British describe it as ‘a light lunch’. Yvonne and I mostly shared 1 scone. They are quite big and filling. Eating 2 scones per person is crazy, in my opinion.
After trying around 15 scones on our 4-week road trip through the UK, these are the characteristics that make an amazing scone for me:
- It needs to be a fruit scone
- The scone needs to be warm
- It has to be served with home-made clotted cream
- It has to be with strawberry jam
I guess I’ve become a bit picky with my scones, huh?
Here is a small gallery of some of the scones we ate (unfortunately, we did not take a picture of each one).
I think there is no better way to get a touch of local culture through food. And scones in England are an amazing portal for doing just that.