A day late and a dollar short…

Is an American idiom that has been in use for many decades. It roughly translates to – An action that was taken  too late and too feeble to be of any use. I readily admit that my posting about National Cream Tea Day is a day late – it was yesterday, June 28^th, 2019, but the information is NOT too feeble to be of any use.

There actually is a Cream Tea Society in England. It is a community that shares in the love and enjoyment of the popular pastime of Cream Teas that dates back to the 1840s. It was founded by Wilkin & Sons Tiptree and Rodda’s Cornish Clotted Cream. Each year the Society pledges up to 50,000 portions of jam and clotted cream to charity cream tea events.

 A Cream Tea…

Is not a meal, but a simple form of Afternoon Tea. It is where one would enjoy a pot of tea with scones that are served with clotted/Devonshire cream and jam. Clotted/Devonshire cream originated in Southwest England (Cornwall or Devon). Whether you put cream or jam on your scone first is entirely up to your personal preferences. In Cornwall, traditionally the jam is spread on the scone first, then the cream. In Devon, it’s the opposite: cream first, then jam.

For generations the people of Great Britain have been divided by a contentious issue: Which goes on a scone first, the jam or the cream? People have been eating scones with jam and cream since the eleventh century, and they’ve probably been arguing about the topping order that whole time. But finally, there is perhaps some clarity on the issue – it is reported that the Queen prefers jam first, according to a former chef, who worked for the royal family for many years.

Today, my tea group actually attended an afternoon tea and I noted that almost everyone in our group, preferred the Devonshire way – clotted cream first and then the jam – sorry Queen Elizabeth.  So, the next time you are enjoying a scone with your tea – take note and see if you are in the Cornwall camp or the Devonshire camp!