Scone

A scone is a kind of bread that is baked on a griddle or sheet.The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition Scones are small, and are in the same group as the crumpet or muffin. They are made of wheat, barley, or oatmeal with baking powder to make them rise. The scone is shaped similarly to the North American biscuit, and its recipe is almost the same as it too. Sometimes scones may have raisins, currants, cheese, or dates in them. In the United States, however, scones include more sweet fillings like cranberries, chocolate chips, or nuts. They can often be found in cafes, tea rooms and at local events in the British Isles. It is generally thought that scones are best eaten cut in half with clotted cream applied to each half then topped with jam.

 Etymology 

Some think that scone comes from the Gaelic "sgonn", which meant a piece of dough that has been cooked for a couple of minutes, shapeless mass or large mouthful; and the Dutch "schoonbrot", which meant fine white bread; or, for last, the German "sconbrot", which meant fine or beautiful bread. The Oxford English Dictionary believes the German and Dutch is more accurate.

It is sometimes debated on the correct pronunciation for "scone". In Scotland and North England, the word is pronounced as "skawn", or "skahn",Traditional Scottish Cookery, Theodora Fitzgibbon while in Southern England, it is pronounced as "skoan" or "skown". The latter pronunciation came from the United States and Canada.

Meanwhile, Cambridge Dictionary presents both options as acceptable.

 History 

Scones are connected traditionally with England, Scotland, and Ireland, but nobody knows which country invented it. However, the first known mention of a scone that was printed is from the translation of The Aenaid (1513) written by a Scottish poet named Gavin Douglas.The History of Scones, The Nibble

Scones are related to the ancient Welsh tradition of cooking small round yeast cakes on stones, that later changed to griddles. First-made scones included oats inside them, and were baked over an open fire. However, today's scones are more like American biscuits. They are made with wheat, and baked in the oven.

The most popular scones are soda scones, wholemeal scones, rich white scones, treacle scones, potato scones, ballater scones and drop scones.Traditional Scottish Cookery, Theodora Fitzgibbon [Fontana:Suffolk] 1980 (p. 231-5) Scones usually take about four to ten minutes to bake.Cassell's Dictionary of Cookery with Numerous Illustrations [Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co.:London] 1874 (p. 842)The Art of Living in Australia, Philip Muskett, 1893 (p. 393)

 References 

Category:Sweet breads
Category:British food
Category:Irish food