Aaah… the humble yet delicious scone.
While many cultures throughout the world make a similar cookie-like breakfast bread, scones – in their American incarnation at least, originated in Scotland and Southwest England. They’re also considered a traditional dish in the Republic of Ireland – whose representatives chose the scone as their own contribution to the Café Europe cultural initiative.
According to Wikipedia, what we call a scone [pronounced like "cone" or "Joan"] is actually pronounced like “con” or “John” by around two-thirds of the British population, as well as most people in Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
You know what goes with scones? Currants and orange zest. While Colleen’s recipe for a wonderfully moist mixture certainly doesn’t need any help, the small dried seedless grapes and the slight tangy acidity of the orange make this a perfect bread that you really don’t need to butter.
If you’re not sure which pronunciation of scone to use, the poem below reminds us that both are correct in their own way:
“I asked the maid in dulcet tone
To order me a buttered scone
The silly girl has been and gone
And ordered me a buttered scone.”
And while I don’t think I’ve ever actually had a proper Devonshire cream tea under the low afternoon sun, these scones freaking rock in the morning – whether fresh out of the oven or heated up later – with a hot cup of cappuccino.
