Scones are a quintessentially British treat. The most common way to have them is as part of ‘a cream tea’ where you enjoy them with clotted cream and fruit jam. Nothing could be more peaceful or uncontentious, right? Wrong.
The arguments start when it comes time to add the cream and jam. Which goes on first? If you’re from Devon in England, you’d add the cream and then the jam whereas their neighbours in Cornwall insist that the opposite (jam then cream) is the only way to go. Claims on both sides range from it being more convenient to it improving the flavour. One thing is for sure, neither side will back down. It might seem a silly thing to fight over but these people mean business: there have even been calls to have the ‘wrong’ way made illegal.
So, is there a ‘correct’ way? It emerged in 2018 that The Queen prefers her scones to be prepared with the jam added first (1 to Cornwall). However, this didn’t so much as halt the debate for a moment. It seems as though the only way to decide for yourself is to get some scones, some cream and some jam and do some experimenting of your own. It’s a hard and onerous quest but someone has to do it, right?