Cream tea, how do you take yours?

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This article came about because my dear friend Catherine and I were eating scones on one of our regular outings. We often do that, and compare different qualities. It has to be said that Catherine is the baker of very fine home-made scones. Mid munch, we started talking about the history of scones, and this is the result of research. Of course, anyone looking to follow our example, and sample scones and possibly a cream tea in Rye, has a multitude of tea houses to choose from.

Obviously, a scone is an essential element of our traditional cream tea. I don’t intend adding to the, sometimes heated, debate about the correct order in which to dollop on your clotted cream and jam. At the risk of offending the good citizens of Devonshire and Cornwall, (and isn’t the role of a writer to sometimes stimulate a lively, friendly debate?) I would say just enjoy the combination however you like it best. Further, there are those who say that the only appropriate conserve is strawberry. Again, I just say enjoy whatever takes your fancy. In my case, I rather like Tiptree peach.

Scones are, apparently, such simple things to make. Never having done so myself, (I’m bad at cooking but an expert at eating,) I’m told that it takes but flour, butter, milk and sugar. Some advocate the addition of egg, apparently. There is no tradition of helping mother in the kitchen and learning from her with our family. My mother lived to the age of 91 and never even boiled a kettle in her life. She would have starved in a full kitchen. Late in life, I’ve sort of mastered the basics.

It’s odd that the scone, so much considered to be an integral part of the English cream tea, was probably first made in Scotland in the 16th century. The first mention of this Food of the Gods is in a Scottish poem dated 1513. The recipe originally included that Caledonian favourite, oats. They were made as one large, round shape, with cuts scored into the top, conveniently dividing it into four or six pieces. Cooking was done on an iron griddle over an open fire. Although Scottish, the word scone itself comes from either the German word Sconbrot, meaning fine bread, or the Dutch word schoonbrot, which, unsurprisingly, has absolutely the same meaning.

Afternoon tea was popularised by Anna, Duchess of Bedford, a lifelong friend of Queen Victoria. In about 1840, the duchess found that she was getting peckish in the afternoon. Dinner, which was originally a midday repast, was now being served later and later, for a number of reasons, including the introduction of gas lighting.  Sometimes it was served as late as 9 pm. Now, luncheon was the midday meal.

Luncheon originally meant a thick piece of food, such as meat. It was first mentioned in relation to a meal during the 17th century, but rarely used as such until the 19th. This left a long gap between meals, and Duchess Anna felt the need of a little something between luncheon and dinner. Although now it is often seen as something of a treat, a civilized interlude in a working day, to Duchess Anna and her circle, it stopped them from fainting with hunger (very tight corsets may have had a hand in causing fits of fainting). So, at about 4 pm, along with a cup of tea, there would be sandwiches, cakes, scones and, in winter, muffins. The idea became popular and spread from Woburn Abbey to other, less substantial homes across the land.

A curious piece of etiquette went with tea. If a guest returned her empty cup to the hostess with the spoon in the saucer, it meant that she would like another cup. A Frenchman, unaware of this, returned his cup with the spoon in the saucer. It was refilled and returned to him. This happened about half a dozen times until he arose, in some discomfort, and rushed from the room crying, “Alas, Madame, I can take no more.”

As with so many articles of food there are competing claims for invention by both the Welsh and the Irish, both of whom are producers of delectable baked goods.

Image Credits: Doro Maria .

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5 COMMENTS

  1. Logic dictates the cream is spread on first, butter not required. Fruit on top. On a slice of bread you don’t put the fruit jam on and then spread the butter on top.

  2. Many thanks for your comment Tony. The way you suggest certainly makes sense.

    Just don’t be caught alone on a dark night in Cornwall! You’ll be fine in Devon though, so just don’t cross the Tamar.

    MM

  3. I have no idea who started all this nonsense about how people in Devon and Cornwall eat their scones. It seems to be a topic that’s only been discussed in recent years. Apparently those in Devon put the cream on a scone first and add a preserve on top. Maybe some do. However, in 60 years of spending time visiting family in Devon I’ve never seen anyone in my life do so. The joy of eating a scone in either county is about having the cool clotted cream hit the roof of the mouth before you bite down into the sweetness of the preserve. In regard to the photo used to illustrate this story, that’s a whole different matter as fresh strawberries have been used, and the cream acts as a base to hold the fruit in place.

  4. I’ve done some more research on the cream or jam first question. The good people of Cornwall insist on jam first, because obviously, the scone is served warm. The jam stops the cream from melting.

    Devonians insist that the first cream tea was served in about 997, as a treat to his workers from the Earl of Devon. The cream was used instead of butter.

    Just enjoy what suits you best. If you please yourself, then at least one person will be happy.

    MM

  5. I lived in both Devon and Cornwall and can’t remember it ever being mentioned, I think it’s like most stories, one for the grockles, sells cream teas at outlandish prices.

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