Does it get anymore British than this!? Well, maybe with cucumber sandwiches and roast dinners. But the humble scone is right up there. 

With a spot of tea, scones are a rather proper belting addition to any garden-based get together. And we’re here to celebrate that. 

What Are Scones?

A scone is a baked good made out of wheat or oatmeal. Typically, a scone is served with cream and jam. 

However, crème fraîche is also an option. But whatever you choose, the scone is a perfect addition to any humble tea party you wish to hold. 

While these days a sausage roll is more popular for many Brits, there are still plenty of scone enthusiasts here and all over the world. 

In 2005, a market report showed the scone industry to be worth some £64 million. Not half bad, eh? 

Indeed, we once opined hell hath no fury like a woman’s scones, but then we realised we got the whole idiom thing wrong.

The best bet is just to eat the ruddy things and have done with it. 

What’s the History of Scones? 

The word first turned up in 1513, according to the Oxford English Dictionary. 

Scone may derive from the Scots Gaelic term “sgonn”. Or the Middle Dutch “schoonbrood”. Plus, there’s the Middle German term “schöne”.

So, at some point circa 1500 (and earlier) the English name had formed into scone, possibly from a bunch of the above European titles. 

However, there’s also a town called Scone up in Scotland. It’s located in Perth and Kinross and is a medieval town. 

Did the scone originate from Scone? Well, no one knows for sure. The trajectory of the humble baked foodstuff is a bit vague. 

What used to be located there was the Stone of Scone, an oblong block of bricks. For many centuries its use was for the coronation of Scottish monarchs. 

Whilst it’s unclear where the scone hailed from (nice rhyme, eh?), you can bet your backside it was probably Europe. 

The baked good was once large, round, and flat object. It would be as big as a plate! And baked under a griddle, then cut up like we do these days with birthday cakes and all that.

However, that sort of foodstuff is now called a bannock.

What seems clear is various countries (including Scotland, England, Germany, and Holland) had some sort of variety on the scone. 

And over the centuries it’s evolved into what is viewed as quintessentially British today. 

How Do You Pronounce “Scone”? 

The pronunciation of scone is an arduous battle with no real answer. Some will say it like, “tone”. Others with a “skon” emphasis, like “gone”. 

Hell, wars have probably been fought over this issue in the past. 

Typically, here at Professional Moron, we aim for “skon”. Maybe it’s because we’re rough and ready Northerners. Who knows? 

To be fair, it’s a word we don’t exactly say a lot. We’ve not eaten scones in bloody years, it’s not like we march into a baker’s every other day demanding our daily intake. 

Either way, we don’t have any issue how you want to say it. Whatever suits. 

How Do You Make Scones?

Once again, we have smoking hot, hunky, gorgeous, dreamboat, hubba hubba that is Jamie Oliver here to help us out. 

At Professional Moron, we can’t say we’ve ever made scones. But we did some research for you so you can have a whirl. If you fancy. 

Anyway, these are the things you’ll need to make a scone (or more than one):

225 grams of self raising flour
A tiny pinch of salt
55 grams of butter
25 grams of caster sugar
150 millilitres of milk
A free-range egg, beaten, to glaze the scone(s)

Follow dreamboat Jamie Oliver’s instructions and before you’ll know it there’ll be scones in your household. 

Or you’ll burn your kitchen down trying. Either way, worth a shot!