The Proper Way To Eat A Scone, According To Queen Elizabeth
Scone etiquette is just about nonexistent here in the United States, but the baked treats hold a little more gravity over across the pond. On one end of the spectrum, U.S. scones are sweet, butter-filled, and usually found in coffee shops to accompany a cappuccino. On the other end, "scawns" in the U.K. are less sweet and less buttery. They're taller, rounder, and are the official supplement to tea time, according to Cook's Illustrated.
The canvas may be a bit plainer than what we're used to here in the U.S, but that's where jam and clotted cream come in. The baked goods are usually topped with both, though the order in which they're applied depends on who you ask, or rather, where you're enjoying your afternoon tea. According to The Guardian, it's jam first, then cream in Cornwall, while folks in Devon follow the rite of cream-then-jam. But which way is really the right way? The Queen herself may have the answer.
How the Queen eats her scones
Former chef to the British royal family, Darren McGrady, shared a tweet back in 2018 that may sway some scone skeptics. According to McGrady, who served the royal family for 15 years, Queen Elizabeth II was quite specific about the procedure. At the Royal tea and garden parties at Buckingham Palace, the Queen was served scones topped with jam first. A layer of homemade Balmoral jam, to get specific, was slathered on the scone before being topped with a dollop of clotted cream. Team Cornwall it is.
Is this enough to bury the British scone feud once and for all? Even with the Queen's authority and stance on the matter, probably not. Scones have been enjoyed one way or another with clotted cream and jam toppings since the 11th century, says The Guardian, so the likelihood that folks in Cornwall and Devon will change their ways now is slim. It's a tasty treat of tradition, nonetheless.