In Cornwall, there are plenty of opportunities to sample a Cornish Cream Tea. Today cafes offer plain or fruit scones with clotted cream and a choice of fruit jams. If you want something a little more indulgent, a full afternoon tea is also available with a selection of delicate little sandwiches, mouthwatering sweet cakes as well as a cream tea.
A little bit of history!
As a child, I remember Cornish Splits being the staple of a cream tea. A Cornish Split is a sweet, buttery bread roll which was served with jam and clotted cream. After a large dinner, for example a Sunday roast, only a light tea was needed and ‘Cakey Tea’ hit the spot. At this point, I must add that Cornish people tend to have dinner at midday and tea at about 5 o’clock! Cakey Tea consists of cakes, particularly saffron cake, and a cream tea served using Cornish Splits.
One of my grandad’s favourite treats was ‘Thunder and Lightning’ which is very similar to a cream tea. Instead of jam, copious amounts of golden syrup or treacle were added. My grandad used to grin like a Cheshire Cat when he was putting Thunder and Lightning together!
So just how do you eat a cream tea?
We have sat in cafes, watching the baffled faces of tourists as they are presented with a cream tea: scone, jam and clotted cream. Some will confidently know what to do, but others stare and quietly ask each other, ‘Where is the butter?’, and try to casually look around to see what other diners are doing.
In fact, we watched a young lad of about 20, and his Dad, trying to figure out how to approach this dilemma. Dad decided to cut the scone vertically, first in half then into quarters. He then stopped and took a look around the cafe to see what every one else was doing. Realising his mistake, he looked even more baffled. His son had chosen to cut the scone in half horizontally and add just a little bit of cream, as if it was butter. He took a bite and judging by his face, was not impressed. I must admit that I enjoy watching the various approaches!
‘Jam First!’
As a Cornish person, I have no doubt about how to eat a cream tea - jam first! ‘Jam first!’ Is a phrase that you may have heard frequently and is somewhat of a slogan amongst Cornish people, an indication that you are part of the in crowd. A Cornish person will cut the scone in half horizontally, place at least a teaspoon of jam, preferably - and traditionally - strawberry, followed by a good dollop of Cornish clotted cream. Hence the phrase ‘Jam first!’.
A few years ago, Lanhydrock House advertising campaign showed a cream tea with cream first. They were very quickly and adamantly put right by the locals and it made headlines in our local papers. Shamefaced, they quickly changed their images and all was well but it shows the strength of feeling for our Cornish traditions.
A friendly rivalry…
There is another tradition that is alive and well. A friendly rivalry exists between the counties of Devon and Cornwall. Whereas in Cornwall we opt to place jam first, in Devon they place cream first! Some people say it is a matter of taste and preference. I say that they are merely misinformed as to the depth of feeling in these two counties!
National Cream Tea Day , Friday 24th June 2022
With National Cream Tea day approaching, we will be celebrating with a cream tea of our own! Andrew’s curiosity about the history and development of the cream tea may lead us to making a video about it soon. We know that the video will involve eating a cream tea and making a Cornish Split from a 1930s recipe. We just need to sample a few more cream teas and will make the video drekkly!
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