Time for the Scones!

by Mary Jo

Several weeks ago, I set out to write about clotted cream and scones, and it rapidly ballooned into such a massive amount of material that I decided to do two posts, one on clotted cream and one on scones.  (Anne Gracie has already blogged on the general subject of afternoon tea.) 

And it's still a massive amount of material!  In our private Wench discussion loop, we ran wild, and given that the Wenches come from the US, Canada, the UK, and Australia, the range of experience--and opinions!--is vast.

 

A Short History

To start with an important point: scones are a quick bread, leavened by baking powder or baking soda, not yeast.  So while the word "scone" goes back to at least the sixteenth century, it originally described a different product, probably a yeasted griddle cake.  Baking powders weren't developed until the early 19th century, and the kind we use now was invented in the 1840s.  So Regency scones might be different from the modern kind.

How IS scone pronounced??

The next issue, and this one is BIG: is the name pronounced to rhyme with "own"  or with "on?"  Peaceable household have been rent asunder by this argument.  <G>  As a loose generalization, North Americans and Britons from the south of the UK are more likely to say "scown", while Scots, Northern English, Aussies, New Zealanders and South Africans are more likely to say "scon."  In the UK, undertones of classism creep in, with Southerners more likely to think that "scon" sounds lowbrow while Northerners think "scown" sounds like "putting on airs."  Did you ever dream that this was such a fraught topic????

Here's a fun article from the Oxford dictionaries on the subject.  (Complete with pie charts!)  As they point out, both pronunciations are in wide use so there isn't a "right" or "wrong" way to say.  But that doesn't prevent the fur from flying. <G>

Is a Scone just a Biscuit?

And the last great battle: is a scone the same as a biscuit?  One of the Wenches used to be on a Regency era list where asking this question could produce blood on the pixels:  

"American biscuits were NOTHING like scones.  Even when I provided two recipes side by side, scones were still NOT like US biscuits!!!  It was the Americans arguing this, BTW, not the Brits or Aussie/NZers."

This may be related to the fact that American biscuits are soft and/or flaky, while in the UK, biscuit usually means a harder baked good that's more like a cracker or a cookie that can be either sweet or savory.  And yet the Americans were arguing that scones and biscuits were nothing alike though biscuits are softish, like scones, in this part of the world.  

This segued into a Wenchly discussion on the differences between scones and biscuits, of which our bottom line conclusion is that biscuits are more diverse in how they're made--though a buttermilk biscuit is indeed kissin' kin to a scone.  

Another difference is that scones use butter while biscuits generally use shortening.  Also, to make scones very light in texture, there's an emphasis on keeping ingredients cold and mixing them very quickly, keeping handling to a minimum because that toughens the end result.

Keeping ingredients cold is something I learned when I lived in England--having "a light hand for pastry" generally means having cold hands.  I should bake more often since I tend toward cold hands. <G>

Biscuits tend to have more kneading and handling.  Our one Wench who was Southern raised says, "All these fluffy biscuits just puzzle me. Biscuits are supposed to be flaky and break apart in many layers. You put them on a board and pat them out. Fold. Pat down. Fold, etc."  

So that's another approach to biscuits.  In the American South, gravy biscuits are a divinely unhealthy breakfast staple.  (Hot biscuits split and topped with a white gravy that has lots of little bits of sausage in it. When my sister moved to Virginia and started mentioning gravy biscuits, I thought they sounded appalling.  Until I ate some from a very find country kitchen.  <G> Yum!)

Having provided all that background, here's a recipe provided by Anne Gracie for a very simple, classical scone.  

Here's a very basic recipe -- quick and easy. It's 20 minutes from getting down the flour and taking the butter out of the fridge, to putting them warm in a basket.  Plain scones need to be eaten fresh from the oven IMO -- but as I only make them when I have visitors, that's no problem. They go very quickly.  

And here's a youtube video of a jolly New Zealand chef making scones with absolutely minimal handling.  She grates in ice cold butter, does most of the mixing with a knife, and barely touches the dough at all.  And they look pretty darned good!

So where do you stand on these great debates?  Scowns or Scons?  Are scones just a kind of biscuit?  And are either biscuits or scones a regular part of your life?  

Mary Jo, feeling hungry….!

Comments

[Lillian Marek]

I would NEVER use shortening in my biscuits. Only butter! So my biscuits (often made with buttermilk) really are very similar to the scone recipes I have seen. (Not, however, to the things I see in bakeries that look very much like rock cakes with all sorts of added ingredients like cranberries and chocolate chips.) I thought the main difference was that scones are made with egg in addition to the flour-butter-milk-baking powder/soda
Before baking powder, scones or bannocks were usually made with oat or barley meal and no leavening at all. I suspect they never turned up on the breakfast table of a Regency lady.

[Judy]

Scowns for me. The scones I find in my favorite bakery remind me of the scones I ate in Scotland, soft break-apart texture, with a thin crispy crust, due to a milk wash and smattering of sugar. Scones I always think in terms of using honey or jam.

Biscuits flake/peel apart in layers, with butter brushed over the top. I may use it as a sweet or a savory, spread with jam or honey or used for a sandwich or gravy. Love biscuits and gravy. I wouldn't use a scone for biscuits and gravy.

I wish they were more of a part of my regular life.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Lillian, that's interesting about the egg! I've not seen recipes with that, not that I've really looked.

I'm sure you're right that those early scones and bannocks being more peasant food that a lady's delicacy. Though I'm sure they're very good with jam and perhaps clotted cream as well!

[Mary Jo Putney]

Judy, I also wish true scone were more available, though it's probably healthier for me that they're not! The scones I see around here are generally triangular, with something like cranberry or blueberry added. Nice, but not a real scone. (I'm fine with either pronunciation!)

[Faith]

Laughed my head off through this one, MJP. People get hot under the collar about the craziest things, who knows why? Except that it's obviously important to them. Po-tay-toe vs Poh-tah-toe, IMHO.

Who IS that little cutie with a mouthful of scone and her bottle at the ready?

And now I'm going to be pining for good, Southern biscuits (REAL buttery, flaky biscuits, not scones) and sausage gravy (made from link sausages, not patties!) for weeks. Makes my mouth water all over again.

And orange and currant scones, which I used to buy every time I went shopping at our local Co-Op in NW California. Wonder if anyone in Western NY state makes great scones?

Thanx again for the fun post. Lovely wrapup to the mouthwatering discussing starting with AG's high tea, and your post about *sigh* clotted cream. Mmmmm-mmmm-mmmm.

Cheers,
Faith

[Mary Jo Putney]

Faith, I'm glad you enjoyed it! On the subject of pronunciations. apparently the to-may-to vs to-mah-to divide is similar the the scown/scon meridian. *G* So North Americans eat to-may-tos and much of the Old Empire eats to-mah-tos. I'm sure they taste much the same. *G*

When it come to food, we Wenches take our research SERIOUSLY!!!

[Vicki W.]

Okay....I'll join the discussion. I'm from Georgia so I qualify as a Southerner for this voting session.

I'm a Scown - but with a smile. Grin.

Are scones a regular part of my life? Every Christmas Bird Count (which I do once a year.) I do love them but...don't make them often. No egg but pure butter. The milk or cream used depends on what is on hand.

Are biscuits a regular part of my life? Well, currently yes very unfortunately. My favorite recipe at the moment is made of Bisquick, 7-up and sour cream. Sounds weird but oh my, they taste like very traditional southern biscuits. I'm actually going to have to go take two out of the freezer and bake them up.

Is there a difference? Oh yes..... The taste and texture of the two are very different when cooked.

As for uncooked - the scones never have the same amount of gluten structure develop when I mix the ingredients together. The two dough's feel totally different. Or at least they do to me.

Besides the fact that you treat them differently - sharp biscuit cutters for biscuits.

[Ella Quinn]

I love biscuits (the American kind) and scones, but have to agree that they don't taste the same. I would dearly love to have a recipe that precedes baking powder. Shared.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Vicki--Anne Gracie came up with an online recipe that used a soda very similar to 7-UP, and apparently it's very good, so you're onto something there. And how could sour cream be anything but a plus???? IT's interesting that the doughs feel very different. I'm made Bisquick shortcake to go with fresh strawberries and that's certainly easy. I'd think the soda would produce more lightness. Maybe I should experiment....

[Mary Jo Putney]

Ella, I took a look at some of my historic cookbooks, and I'm guessing that it would be a yeasted bun, or a griddle cake with some egg for a bit of leavening. I'm developing a new appreciation for baking powder!

[Jenny]

I'm from Australia. definitely "scons", but after visiting parts of the UK, I can live with "scowns". I cannot cook!!! but i can make scones. They are so easy. A couple of scoop of self raising flour (plain flour and baking powder), a couple of knife scoops of butter/margarine and a pinch of salt if you remember. Rub shortening into flour, and mix all with milk using a knife. The mixture should be damp. Sprinkle flour on a board and kneed flour into mixture. Cut out and place on a baking tray and cook at 210deg C for 15-17 minutes until brown. Split scone straight out of oven with lashings of butter. When a bit cooler and the butter doesn't melt so easily you can then add jam. Later when cool, then it is jam and cream. Any left over can be frozen, and when wanted just zap for 30 seconds in the microwave. Have to say however that it is rare that any are left over.

Cooking them before the advent of the closed stove and ovens, I believe was possible. I have cooked them on a griddle on top of a stove top. They don't rise as much as in an oven. But maybe they were cooked in something like a bread oven. They need heat all around. So maybe as bread was cooked each day, scones were as well.

I am now off to bake some scones.

[Linda S.]

My mother was born near Glasgow, and I learned the "scon" pronunciation from her. She made something she called potato scones from leftover mashed potatoes, flour, a little milk, and some butter, I think. She rolled them out like a pie crust, cut them in quarters, and cooked them on a griddle. We slathered butter on them, rolled them up, and ate. Delicious, although not the same kind of scone most people think of when they hear the word.

[Anne Gracie]

I'm getting hungry just reading this! And I'm going to have to have a lesson in making a flaky layered Southern biscuit. And eat one (or two) -- I've never eaten one like that. The US biscuits I've eaten are very like a scone (pronounced scon by me -- Scottish forebears) BTW scones left overnight in a biscuits tin go soft. My grandma was renowned for her baking skills and always had scones fresh and hot minutes after we arrived. She was also known for her date scones, which we ate slathered with butter and nothing else.

[Tsu Dho Nimh]

The recipe you linked to would be what my grandmother (born in 1886, with Southern roots) called "rolled biscuits".

If she used cream instead of milk, they were "cream biscuits".

She didn't hold with "beaten biscuits" (the folded and flattened layered kind) and seldom made "drop biscuits".

[Delia]

Hi MJP thank you again for this wonderful blog. I definitely have to make the one from youtube. Looks amazing. I can try the other but this one looks so easy!
I will let you know how it comes out.

[DB Tait]

That Annabel White is a treat isn't she? As an Aussie I'm a scon girl too. The scones I had in the US were more like rock cakes (quite nice but not a scone). I also don't like dried fruit in my scones, just plain with raspberry jam and cream. Ah, for a good scone. I feel some baking coming on.

[Mary Jo Putney]

You had me at "lashings of butter," Jenny. *G* Interesting that they can be cooked on a griddle, but I guess they'd still need something like baking soda to rise, so the pre-baking soda versions were probably more like bannocks or Welsh cakes.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Linda, yesterday when I looked up scones in my old Taste of Scotland cookbook, there were the potato scones, and now you've had them! They sounds lovely, but mashed potatoes never make it to the leftover stage in my house.

[Mary Jo Putney]

You missed your chance for a Southern biscuit in San Antonio last year, Anne! I'm sure they had them there, smothered with sausage gravy. As a Yankee, I really didn't know about the layering of Southern biscuits, but it sounds rather like the very old days, when I made croissants from scratch. Butter also featured prominently in them, too. *G*

[Mary Jo Putney]

This is a whole glossary of Southern biscuit types! I think I need to find some beaten biscuits just to see what they taste like. Thanks for the descriptions.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Please do! My cooking ideal is great tasting food with as little effort as possible. *G*

[Mary Jo Putney]

I loved Annabel White! She was so happy in her work. This is the second time someone here has said that American scones are rather like rock cakes. Next time I'm in the UK, I'll have to find me some rock cakes for a comparison tasting.

[Jobev]

No, no. No eggs in scones! Not the traditional quick bread ones, anyway. People add eggs to make them last longer, I think. To me, it's the kneading v light handling that make the difference. But both are good.

[Jobev]

We call those potato cakes, and yes, they're yummy. Worth making extra mashed potatoes for.

[Arlene D]

I'll be maling scones soon!

[Arlene D]

making!!!!

[Mary Jo Putney]

Jo, I've tried to make extra mashed potatoes, yet still it doesn't happen. *G* Sometimes my mother would make potato patties out of leftovers--just patted into cakes and fried. Simpler than potato scones, but good.

[Mary Jo Putney]

LOL! Making it is, Arlene D, and if you make some for some males, that's okay. too. *G*

[Karin]

The scones that Jenny from Australia described sound just like what Americans call biscuits. The scones we get in the U.S. usually have other things added to them, like nuts or berries, and we eat them as is. Biscuits are usually plain, and get split and eaten with butter and jam or jelly. Although the cheese biscuits AKA "Red Lobster" biscuits are delicious.

[Martha]

I thought I commented (earlier this week) but since I don't see it, I'll try again.

Scowns for me. My best experiences eating them was at high tea at the Savoy Hotel in London with my girl-friend. Plain (nothing added to the scone itself) but served with clotted cream and strawberry preserves. It was heavenly. Earl Gray tea complimented the scones and other goodies.

[theo]

It would be 'scons' for me with my English and Scots grans, but if you asked my dad's dad, I would have a tough time pronouncing it with his Welsh accent. :)

My English gran's were a bit sweeter and not quite as...dry as my Scots gran's were, but the latter were much more traditional and the cream was better. So it's a toss up for me. But I've only had them once since either gran passed that came close to theirs and it was at a traditional Scot bakery.

[Kelly]

I always wondered what exactly clotted cream was and how to eat it! Thank you for the education. :)

[Jenny]

Clotted cream - I live in a small town in tasmania (pop 800), and last week, in our small supermarket, they had clotted cream! In a town at the bottom of the world, or at least a long way away from Devon, the home of clotted cream.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Karin--

If Americans had clotted cream available, we wouldn't need to add dried fruit to our scones. *G* Both ways are good, though.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Earl Gray goes well with so MANY things, Martha! There's a reason why it was Captain Picard's choice. *G*

[Mary Jo Putney]

Nice to know that the bakery was upholding tradition well. I can't even imagine what a Welsh accent would sound like in this context. *G*

[Mary Jo Putney]

So as you saw, it's cream cooked down and intensified to a delicious richness just short of sweet butter. Just as well it's hard to find. *G*

[Mary Jo Putney]

Go, Tazzies! Was it from the Devonshire creamery? (Or a name very similar to that.) They seem to have figured out how to do a version of clotted cream that travels well and tastes pretty good. And it traveled all the way to Tasmania. I hope you acquired and enjoyed some!

[Joyce Melton]

No one to cook for anymore so I haven't made biscuits in twenty years but the last batch I made were "fish head" drop biscuits which we crumbled up fresh from the oven and covered with creamed ham (white gravy made with pieces of ham instead of sausage). Oh, so good!

The scones I've had from stores and cafes around SoCal are nothing like biscuits and, according to British friends, nothing like real English scones either.

Beaten biscuits with butter between the layers come out tasting like croissants. It would be a shame to put any gravy on them except chocolate gravy, another southern tradition.