It is the quintessential, polarising English dessert: the scone.
Does the cream or the jam come first?
If there is one person in this world that can end this age-old debate, it’s…well it’s obviously Her Majesty Elizabeth II.
Our answer comes from The Crown, the meticulously researched Netflix show about the Queen’s life. Producers of the show have evidently applied thorough investigation into how the Queen eats her scones, and thus have given us a conclusive answer.
And the results are: cream first, jam second.
The critical scene comes from Season Two, Episode Eight, when the Queen cuts the scone, ever-so-elegantly puts the cream on the scone, and then places the jam on top.
Listen: The Crown just solved a major issue about scone, as discussed by The Binge Podcast. Post continues after audio.
Those on the opposing side of this method would argue that this is problematic, as Jam needs a surface to grab a firm hold on to, which cream clearly does not provide, and only that of the scone’s surface does.
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When were in the UK doing the Aussie senior's rite of passage Trafalgar Tour, we were fortunate enough to have Trafalgar's top UK tour guide do our trip. On our first afternoon, we were taken to a tiny pub in a secluded valley somewhere in Devon for our first afternoon tea. It was accompanied by a talk from the owner on the etiquette surrounding the Devonshire Tea. He said that in Devon, the cream is placed on first, then the jam. However, the cream is clotted cream which is very thick and a pale golden colour. It's nothing like our whipped cream. It holds onto the scone as well as butter does.
When we went on our way again, our tour guide told us that in Cornwall, the opposite is true ie, jam first then cream. Go figure.