A quintessentially English treat is really, truly, hard to beat! What is this delicacy, pray tell? Why, none other than English scones and rose jelly- an exceptional feast for your belly!
This week the children and I turned to the kitchen for much of our learning. We applied our reading comprehension and math measuring skills as we turned our hands to the spatula and saucepan. Reading recipes is an excellent way to make reading time more interesting and fun. Kitchen cookbooks offer a plethora of knowledge.
So put on your imaginative caps and let us take you on an adventure across the pond -to any bakery… or any shop. For where English delicacies abound-a classic scone is sure to be found.
As would be expected, some thrifted treasures will also be included for they too help to tell a story. Oh, what a joy!
Things do not have to be expensive to hold value. Let me convince you with some lovely, ordinary things.
Put on your aprons, tie back your strings, and come into the kitchen- the heart of the home, to see what lessons the kitchen can bring.
~The Quintessentially English, Scone~
Ahh, the iconic English scone! Scones can be pronounced “s-con“(like con artist) or “s-cone” (like ice cream cone). Sort of like “tomayto, tomahto… and potayto, potahto,” I suppose. The pronunciation varies by region.
Regardless of articulation, scones are a classic English treat. They look and taste similar to an American biscuit, but they are less salty and slightly sweeter. English scones are soft and fluffy, sweet… but not overly sweet. Sometimes they even contain fruit.
Most often scones are served with clotted cream and jam. Alongside a hot cuppa tea, of course. Sounds delightful if you ask me.
~Clotted Cream and Jam~
Naturally, clotted cream is a bit harder to come by in America, but you can find it at Trader Joes or Whole Foods Market. It can also be made in your own kitchen.
Clotted cream is actually quite simple to make. Basically, it is heavy whipping cream that is baked very slowly for a long period of time. However, the cream needs to not be ultra pasteurized (which can be difficult to find in American grocery stores).
Indeed, you can make clotted cream with the ultra-pasteurized cream, and it still tastes nice, but it has a much grainier texture. The best way for an American to describe clotted cream- to another fellow American- is a thick spreadable cream. It is not sweet but instead very rich.
As my time is at a premium these days, I opted to make whipped cream for our scones, in leu of, the traditional clotted cream.
Jam or jelly is often also served with an English scone. Generally, this jam/jelly is strawberry or raspberry flavored. Feeling adventurous, I wanted to try something new. Hence, the rose jelly (which I will share after we get to the scone) …
~How Should a Scone be "Dressed"?
There is often a fun debate on how to “dress” the perfect scone. Is it, cream with jam on top? Or is it jam with cream on top? You lovely English people out there-how do you properly “dress” your scone?
Proper scone etiquette or not, I like to slice my scone straight down the middle. Then on each half, thickly spread the clotted cream on the bottom and afterwards spread the jam/jelly on the top of the cream. Unarguably, scones are best served alongside a lovely “cuppa” tea.
In fact, scones were my favorite treat in all of England. You could even buy them in the supermarket- but generally, any café or bakery would sell them in some fashion.
Some of my favorite dates with my husband were very simple. A walk in the beautiful English villages, a cuppa tea, and a scone with clotted cream and jam. That is still my ideal date. (However, if I want this date, I have to make the English scone myself-hence this blog post. I am thankful I can!)
~How a Scone is Made, In My American Kitchen~
Scones are a real joy to make! Patting the dough out and gently cutting through the soft dough with biscuit rounds, is quite satisfying. They are relatively inexpensive to make. As with most baked goods, they are best enjoyed fresh out of the oven.
~Rose Jelly~
I decided to try something new by making a rose jelly… because how English does that sound? Scones, clotted cream, rose jelly, and a cuppa? Yes, please!
In my ignorance, I did not even know that rose petals were edible. They are not only edible, but rose petals boast some amazing health benefits to boot.
Note: You do want food grade rose petals- as you want to avoid any harmful pesticides that may be used in the garden variety. Fresh, untreated rose petals can be used as well as dried. I used organic, food grade, dried rose petals that I ordered from a reputable company.
Trying new recipes almost always teaches a new thing or two. I tend to cook and bake by taste- meaning, I taste a lot… and adjust even more. This has made writing recipes a challenge. (*To see a non-edible milk bath recipe that uses rose petals as well click here🙂
In making rose jelly, I learned that if you keep the rose petals in the jam (it is indeed called jam), but if you strain the rose petals out, it then becomes a jelly. While the rose petals make the jam look pretty, I am not a big fan of the texture, hence using the metal sieve to create jelly.
~A Beeswax Food Saver~
Being thrifty, I again used some scrap fabric I had left over from my bunting flags. You may well recognize this pattern as I also used it on my golden syrup jar as well.
How lovely to save and use fabric from other projects instead of discarding it. For one never knows when a scrap of yellow rose fabric will be needed.
I then made a beeswax food saver which is a lovely, simple project to do. I have shared a bit about this in the past.
~A Thrifted Teacup Holder~
My children and I came across a wooden teacup holder on one of our thrifting trips. I was not in love with the dark color, but seeing as it was solid wood, I knew I could find a way to make it more suitable for my taste. Naturally, I took it home and used a wood striper on it and some wire wool. I then finished it off with a lighter wood wax. In the end, I was happy with the outcome.
Little decorative pieces like this can make a kitchen feel cozy and warm. Having a few older items in a room also helps it to feel interesting and collected.
Don’t turn away from an item just because it is not perfect. If the item is made of quality materials, there are so many creative ways to make the item more suited to your taste.
*This was the “before” and as I bought the teacup holder (see above photograph). You may recognize the other wooden items from previous posts. If not go check these out: The turtle is featured in this post. The heart bowl, that was transformed into a candle, can be seen here. And the stripped frame can be viewed here.
~Charming Tea Decorations~
We are all drawn to different treasures. There is beauty in variety. Whenever I am in a thrift store or antique store, I am often attracted to vintage items that either tell a story… or could play a part in my story.
Because of my time spent in England (read more on that here), and my many tea times, tea paraphernalia is on my radar. I like to find vintage tea tins or things related to teacups. Oh, and lest I forget teacups themselves… for teacups are charming and also quintessentially English!
Enter the vintage tea tins and wooden teacup holder…
~A Gifted Rose Tablecloth~
The tablecloth I used to decorate my tabletop with was from a kind blog reader- who lovingly gave me this quaint find. While it is too small for my dining room table (as we must fit six at every meal), I was not put off by its petite size- no no. For, a too small tablecloth can be used by placing it in the center of a longer table on the diagonal, so a diamond shape is created. Or in the center, leaving the table ends exposed. I just love the texture that fabrics give to otherwise hard materials.
Thinking a little outside the box: if you were not partial to having a tablecloth, but you liked the pattern, you could also cut it up and use it for various sewing projects. However, I could not bear to cut it up as I found it adorably sweet. If it isn’t broken, why fix it?
Coincidentally, the roses screamed English tablescape to me, so I used it as it was in the center of our dining table. I quite liked how it made a little feature moment, in the middle of the room, for my family to appreciate and enjoy.
It’s the simple things.
~A Bit of Yellowing on Vintage Fabrics~
I must also mention that the tablecloth had some yellowing-simply due to its age. To help eliminate this, I used OxiClean pre-treatment spray and baking soda. I then pre-soaked the tablecloth in OxiCean powder and water and finally washed it and left it to dry in the glorious sunshine.
Baking soda is a good product as is the power of the sun.
Note: always try stain treatments on the back or in an unnoticeable section of your material as sometimes these methods can damage the fabric. If I am in doubt, I let the items dry in the sun (although be mindful of bleaching as the sun is very powerful.)
~Until Next Time~
In conclusion to this quintessentially English post, I wish you all a good week. It is my sincere hope that these weekly posts inspire you all to express your creativity in a lovely way. Savor the simple things that are all around you.
Until next Friday when we shall meet again, Lord willing.
Stop and smell the roses-English roses.
~Elizabeth~
So excited you were able to get the yellow out.
Elizabeth, when I looked first at your teacup holder, I thought it was a lamp! 😊Good job.
Could I use ALDIS Heavy Whipping Cream to make clotted cream?
Thank you! I believe the Aldi heavy whipping cream is ultra pasteurized, but you could try it. I have made it before with ultra pasteurized heavy whipping cream and it becomes a bit grainy and not as smooth of a texture.