By Nooraini Indrana
 

Last June, I enjoyed a short trip with my friends to the Isle of Wight, a small island located off the South coast of mainland England. We drove from London to Portsmouth where we then boarded a ferry. The ferry trip was quite fast, it only took us 45 minutes to Fishbourne port of the island.  

Although small, we found that the island had a lot to offer! Beautiful beaches and scenery, historical attractions, to very traditional English villages. Shanklin was particularly my favorite area. We found a beautiful thatched cottage that served traditional teas. And it was here, at an old-fashioned tea room, where I tasted my very first scone. These British afternoon snacks are commonly served with tea, clotted cream, strawberry jam, and caramel biscuits.

Scones are round-shaped and are made from wheat flour, which makes them very similar to bread. They have a crispy texture on the outside but soft and tender inside. We were served two types of scones, plain and raisin-contained. 

I learned that the correct way to eat scones is to slice it into two, spread clotted cream followed by strawberry jam, and eat each slice by themselves. Although you are of course more then welcome to have your scones however you like - dip it in the cream and jam, or have it like a burger! The best part was that because our scones were still hot, the cream and jam immediately melted and gave an absolutely delicious smell. Definitely a perfect nibble for the chilly British weather!

Clotted cream is a thick cream made from unpasteurised cow’s milk that has been heated. The cream – which is a substitute for butter – originally came from the southwest area of England, Devon and Cornwall.

'Bonne Maman' jams are very well known across Europe because of its high quality and taste. The French word apparently means ‘Grandma’, perhaps it means to share the true traditional taste of jams, and it surely does have a rich flavour!

If you’re interested in scones and haven’t tried them before, you can easily bake them yourselves at home :-)  According to a friend’s experience it is not that difficult and only takes approximately 1 hour. Below are ingredients that you will need:

225g self-rising flour, preferably organic
¼ tsp salt
50g slightly salted butter
25g golden caster sugar
125ml buttermilk
4 tbsp full-fat milk

For the full recipe please visit BBC GoodFood.