How to properly eat a scone?

Earlier this year there were small pots of proper clotted cream in the Lido. I think that was on the QE but I could be mistaken.

I out cream on first as it replaces the butter. I have turned a friend to this way of thinking.

Sorry to be the one to correct some of the more I’ll informed comments in this thread with my first post, but:

The scone should never be cut in half with a knife. Always gently twist the top and bottom in opposite directions. Only other ranks would dream of using a knife.

Milk only goes in first if you have poor quality china that will not stand the high temperature of the tea you are pouring. You will immediately be marked out as a pleb who cannot afford decent china if you do this.

Jam first then cream - never mind the Cornwall v Devon argument; what matters is the entirely practical result which will enable youn to ladle heaps more cream on the thing!

Try and twist it,you just end up with a pile of crumbs.

Unless you wish to maximise the (jam+cream)/scone ratio, in which case careful cutting can produce theee discs. ;-)

My ex used to do that! I remember the look on a friends face when they realised they had been missing out on and "extra" round :D

And when you separate the scone - don't use a knife! :eek:

What!!!! [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]Tear it across the middle ?.. use a knife

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Never bring your own Tabasco. Make sure the waiter supplies it, and notice that the bottle carries a Royal Warrant. You can only get those in the UK or on board. If the bottle is half empty, ask the waiter if you can keep it and impress your American friends. As for scones, cut into two discs. I prefer clotted cream or better yet Double Devon cream. before jam. As to milk before or after the tea is poured. I prefer my with a bit of lemon and no milk. To be sure, there is no "correct" way to do tea, just enjoy, after all we broke the rules with the Boston Tea Party, didn't we?

To the OP: I vote for this shortest and most important advice.

 

Rule #1

We never cut anything at the table - this is a general table etiquette rule. A table "knife" isn't actually a knife. Do not cut scones.

Exception: meat. You use a special knife, and a fork.

 

#2

And yes, eat the halves separately, don't make a "sandwich".

The rest is up to you: It does not matter what you put first (cream or jam - I put minimum jam if any - too sweet). It depends on the situation (a proper table or an awkward coffee table, what kind of scones, how cream/jam are served...)

 

The "safest" procedure: same as for dinner rolls.

 

Happy cruising!

Americans tend to balance their knives on the edge of their plate and then use their fork for everything even cutting, chasing round the plate, everything on the plate

We use a table knife to separate a small piece of food from a larger piece of food in the plate.

Fork & knife.

Not hand & knife.:)

Do you think I'll be found out to be an American when I cut my meat with the fork in my left hand and the knife in my right? I just can't do it the other way, no matter how many British friends I have.

Do you think I'll be found out to be an American when I cut my meat with the fork in my left hand and the knife in my right? I just can't do it the other way, no matter how many British friends I have.

That is the right way to do it !! Fork in the left, knife in the right

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That is the right way to do it !! Fork in the left, knife in the right

 

 

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The proper way to eat a scone is in the manner one finds most enjoyable.

The proper way to eat a scone is in the manner one finds most enjoyable.

I just imagine you saying that to a five year old kid. :D:D:D

Happy vacuuming!

On 10/9/2018 at 7:08 AM, brian1 said:

fizzy1 said:

That is the right way to do it !! Fork in the left, knife in the right

 

 

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Correct,and I am lefthanded,but have always ate that way.

Same here.

Someone up-thread mentioned 'cream cheese' - which is an abomination and should never be eaten with sweet scones!

On 9/12/2018 at 5:21 PM, pepperrn said:

Cut the scone across horizontally to produce two discs.

 

Spread the cream thickly on both halves.

 

Using a spoon, add a large amount of jam on top of the cream on both halves (don't spread the jam, just place it).

This is the highly correct, or "Devon" way, and is a tradition that dates from soon after early man first stood upright (indeed he did so to better grasp a scone with one hand, and spread the cream with a primitive knife held in the other).

 

Accept no heathen, unnatural substitute.

Cream first, jam second was ordained by the gods.

 

For further, logical proof; one dairy product (butter) that many spread on a scone for an "ordinary tea", is replaced in the "cream tea" by another dairy product, cream.

 

Quite easy to remember, both dairy products, and as nature intended.

 

(Avoid any faux/wrong/mistaken cream tea ideas that suggest reversing the cream/jam placement, esp if it comes from a county that isn't really part of England, where they've yet to get electricity, and where until fairly recently you weren't allowed to get married unless it was within your own family (your immediate family) 😄 ).

 

Enjoy your (Devon) Cream Tea 🙂 😄 😉

You convinced me.  

On 9/12/2018 at 6:05 PM, Shuffleboard Dude said:

I do possess infallibility in all questions that concern the most blessed sacrament of afternoon tea. Therefore I rule once and for all time that the Devonians are heretics whose false and evil teachings shall not be followed. It is JAM before CREAM.The sacred name of the baked goods of the lord is pronounced SKON.

 

 

Selkie74 is probably right. If jam or cream first had been the question of the last referendum, there would have been a fourth English Civil War. Oh, and cut the scones with the knife, its more preactical and elegant (and no heresy in my view).

You may be right, but I find it hard to take seriously advice about scones from someone calling himself "dude."  Advice on California cuisine, no problem.    

I’ve been diligently practicing scone deconstruction for the past month.  Now I’m concerned that I won’t fit in my tux next week on the QM2!  

OK,here's the scientific explanation.Jam is squishy and cream is thick and gooey.You can't put thick and gooey on top of squishy,it displaces the squishy.Therefore the solution is,thick and gooey has to be the foundation.

On 10/20/2018 at 7:47 AM, brian1 said:

OK,here's the scientific explanation.Jam is squishy and cream is thick and gooey.You can't put thick and gooey on top of squishy,it displaces the squishy.Therefore the solution is,thick and gooey has to be the foundation.

I don’t put anything thick on mine. A smear of lemon curd - jam is FAR too sweet - and a scraping of cream. No need to ladle anything on!

The scone is the treat, not the stuff on top.

1 hour ago, cruiseluvva said:

I don’t put anything thick on mine. A smear of lemon curd - jam is FAR too sweet - and a scraping of cream. No need to ladle anything on!

 

The scone is the treat, not the stuff on top.

Yeah,but my facts come from Einsteins undiscovered theory of levitivity.

By way of Magdalene, the 1428 one, not the 1458 one, I "learned my way …. take scone, pull'twist apart/break in half, giving me a top and bottom … I take bottom first, apply jam, top with cream, bite …. small bite, possibly three per half. Then, do same with top. NEVER make it a "sandwich"! My "Cornish" method works for me! While I know many Devonians, some quite worth their salt, I just cannot see splattering jam over clotted cream, dirtying plates and fingers. Tea goes into cup first. Then milk. For that, I'll fight to the death! Pinky up, out, hidden? Depends upon the company. And the roof overhead. In The Queens Room I'd go full stop, just because so many do, so join the fun! In the Queen's room, so in awe of The Presence, one could only sit like a lump, no matter it is said she likes cream first, then jam. No matter, anywhere, on sea, ashore, in town or in the country, try not to drop the cup.

I want to know where butter fits into the picture.  In my family, everything tastes better with butter - the more the better. 

Mom's warm from the oven scones, broken in two discs, liberal applications of butter (but not too much to be slick), good sized dollops of cream (whipped, no clotted available), small topping of fresh made curd, or smaller topping of home made strawberry jam.  But always, the sweet layer last - my theory is the weight kept the good stuff (the cream) on the scone as there was a risk of it sliding off into lap otherwise.

Fast forward 40 years, and I hear my gluten free scone for QE tea will come prepackaged.  It will only be a vehicle to get the good stuff to taste buds.  Sequence will be the same but with more cream to replace the butter and conterbalance the (bound to be) dry 'scone'.

No butter as cream replaces it .  Always clotted cream  . If you are just having scones and jam then yes, butter always

Thank you to EVERYONE!!  I have chuckled my way through this thread!!  And, in pantomime, practiced each and every process mentioned!

At the end of April, I'll board on a voyage to NYC -- and I can't wait to have a Tea Time and just watch everyone!!!  I may not have time to eat...