Scones

Category: File - :Tea and scones.jpg|thumb|250px|Scones with strawberry jam and clotted cream as commonly eaten in a Cream Tea

The scone is a small British quickbread (or cake if recipe includes sugar) of Scottish origin. Scones are especially popular in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and Canada, but are eaten in many other countries. They are usually made of wheat, barley or oatmeal, with baking powder as a leavening agent. The scone is a basic component of the cream tea or Devonshire tea.

The pronunciation of the word across the United Kingdom varies. According to one academic study, two-thirds of the British population pronounce it , rhyming with "con" and "John", with the preference rising to 99% in the Scottish population. The rest pronounce it , rhyming with "cone" and "Joan". British dictionaries usually show the "con" form as the preferred pronunciation, while recognizing that the "cone" form also exists.Wells, J.C. "Pronunciation Preferences in British English: A New Survey". University College London, 1998

The word scone derives perhaps from the Middle Dutch schoonbrood (fine white bread), from schoon (pure, clean) and brood (bread). The Oxford English Dictionary reports that the first mention of the word was in 1513.

The original scone was round and flat, usually the size of a small plate. It was made with unleavened oats and baked on a griddle (or girdle, in the Scots language), then cut into triangle-like quadrants for serving. Today, many would call the large round cake a bannock, and call the quadrants scones. In Scotland, the words are often used interchangeably.

When baking powder became available to the masses, scones began to be the oven-baked, well-leavened items we know today.

Modern scones are widely available in British bakeries, grocery stores, and supermarkets. A 2005 market report estimated the UK scone market to be worth £64m, showing a 9% increase over the previous five years. The increase is partly due to an increasing consumer preference for impulse and convenience foods.

Scones sold commercially are usually round in shape, although some cheaper brands are hexagonal as this shape minimises wasteage of dough. When prepared at home, they take various shapes including triangles, rounds and squares. The baking of scones at home is often closely tied to heritage baking. They tend to be made from family recipes rather than recipe books, since it is often a family member who holds the "best" and most treasured recipe.