Does this settle the scone debates?

August 8, 2023 by
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Scones have been an integral part of afternoon tea in the UK for hundreds of years. The recent coronation of King Charles reinforced this tradition and drove sales of scones up by 120%. Clotted cream and jam sales also spiked during the weeks leading up to the coronation. This week is Afternoon Tea Week, so scones are again front and center in the conversation. In honor of this occasion, the UK Craft Bakers Association asked its members to settle, for once and for all, the debates on how to pronounce scone and whether it’s jam first or cream first.

Diana Henry’s Easter scones from Diana Henry at The Sunday Telegraph

There are two ways the word scone is pronounced, one rhyming with ‘gone’ and the other rhyming with ‘cone’. The former pronunciation is more common in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and northern England, while the latter is dominant in the Midlands. The rest of the UK uses a mix of the two. When polled, the Craft Bakers Association came down with a clear majority (60%) of members choosing the ‘cone’ pronunciation.

With regard to the other main scone debate the divide was stark, with 84% of CBA members agreeing with the late Queen Elizabeth that it’s jam first, then cream. Only 8% thought it should be the reverse (apparently 8% of the members were torn or couldn’t make up their mind). As someone who has no dog in either hunt I won’t weigh in on which side is correct. I have heard scone pronounced both ways here in the US, and have even heard a few people call them ‘sconces’ on this side of the pond. I think everyone can agree that is a travesty.

Making a batch of scones seems like a perfect way to celebrate Afternoon Tea Week. There are literally thousands of scone recipes in the EYB Library, some hewing to tradition and others taking bold liberties with the definition of scone. I am partial to fruit scones, with raspberry, rhubarb, and apricot being my favorite fruits to incorporate. Which scone recipe (or recipes) are your favorites?

Category: Holidays & Celebrations

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9 Comments

  • Indio32  on  August 9, 2023

    Cone and jam first! …. IMHO

  • Foodycat  on  August 9, 2023

    The Diana Henry Easter Scones in your picture are actually my favourite recipe – although I make them quite a bit bigger. I find American-style fruit scones delicious but they are a very different beast.

    Skon.

    Jam or cream first is entirely dependent on the relative densities of the products. If you have a really solid clotted cream and a fairly fluid jam, the cream goes first. If you are unfortunate enough to only have whipped cream, it’s probably going to go on top of the jam.

  • lean1  on  August 9, 2023

    Jam only for me.

  • Jane  on  August 9, 2023

    As someone with Scottish parents, the word has always rhymed with ‘gone’. And jam first then cream. One big drawback of moving to the USA was the loss of double cream and clotted cream. American heavy cream is too fluffy and airy. Double cream is thick, glossy and silky smooth. Clotted cream is extra-thick and very rich (a very occasional treat). I know you can buy it (at great expense) in little glass jars in the USA but it doesn’t taste the same. I had a lovely afternoon tea (with delicious clotted cream) a few weeks ago with my Scottish cousins at the Macintosh at the Willow Tea Rooms in Glasgow – I can highly recommend for anyone visiting Scotland.

  • eliza  on  August 9, 2023

    We are Scots now living in Canada so we say scone rhymes with gone. I love making scones of any type and I’ve influenced my friends to say scone the way I do! Being from Glasgow originally, I would love to go back to that tea room Jane.

  • Ganga108  on  August 9, 2023

    Skon, definitely, in Australia. And definitely the British variety, not the US variety. I make mine with butter – they taste much better – but many of my friends make them without. My go-to recipe is one from an old Australian Women’s Weekly cookbook that guarantees tall, delicious scones. For me it is definitely jam first, but I can see how people who make them without butter might want the cream closer to the scone. Oh, and here we also make savoury scones – cheesy ones are delicious – and Flo’s pumpkin scones are famous.

  • gamulholland  on  August 9, 2023

    Rhymes with “gone,” but I’m originally from Belfast. I heard it from my Irish parents, so I thought it was just an Irish thing! You learn something new every day. Also, you can make your own clotted cream. My husband makes it overnight in a very low-temp oven.

  • Pamsy  on  August 9, 2023

    I’m Scottish and it’s scone and gone. For a true Scot, cream has no place, split the scone, butter on each cut half and top with raspberry jam.

  • sullivmi  on  August 29, 2023

    We did a family taste test and all agreed that scones taste best with cream first and raspberry jam on top. The reason being that if the cream is on top, it coats your mouth first with fat and then you don’t get such a fruity hit from the jam. With the jam on top, you get the best of the jam, then the unctuous cream and the fluffy scone to follow. Repeated taste testing is really important 😉

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