British afternoon tea is incomplete without scones. They are delicious with jam and cream. Scones are not quite cakes but they’re also not a pastry or biscuit. They have their own unique texture. The traditional recipe for scones is flour, butter and sugar, but how did it come about? The history of scones is much older than you may think.
The First Scones
Scones were thought to originate in Scotland during the early 1500s. The first print reference is credited to a Scottish poet who wrote in 1513. Scones were made with oats and shaped as a large circle, then scored into four or more wedges. The scones were griddle-baked over an open flame, but today’s versions use flour and are baked in the oven.
The word “sconbrot” is believed to be derived from “schoonbrot”, meaning fine or beautiful white bread, and “sconbrot” is closely related in German.
The Height of Fashion
Around 1840 scones were an important part of the English tradition of afternoon tea. Anna, Duchess Bedford, a close friend to Queen Victoria, popularised this ritual. She requested a ‘light meal’ one afternoon, including tea, biscuits, and scones. She enjoyed it so well that she continued to order it every afternoon, and thus the English tradition of “Afternoon Tea” was born. For Afternoon tea boxes, go to https://www.afternoonteabox.com
Jam or Cream First?
How do you eat it? Cream tea is popular in Devon and Cornwall, but there is a difference between how they eat the scones. In Cornwall, the jam is first added to allow it to sink into the warm scone. Then clotted cream is added to the top.
In Devon it is the opposite. The clotted-cream is spread on the scone first, to create a barrier for the jam to sit on.
