The Devon cream tea

A noteworthy part of West Country life is, undoubtedly, the cream tea. Although it‘s not something that locals tend to go for, it still exists in a big way as a tourist pleaser. The principal element is, of course, the beautifully unctuous local clotted cream. The term ‘clotted’ comes from ‘clout’, meaning ‘a patch’, and refers to the way the thick crust is formed on top of the cream as it is cooked. Surprisingly, clotted cream is said only to be made in Devon and Cornwall - and Phoenicia (modern-day Lebanon). The art of making the cream of Cornwall was possibly exchanged with the Phoenicians when they came to Britain to trade tin in 500BC.