Cornish Clotted Cream

Clotted cream is made by heating full-cream milk slowly and leaving it to cool, so the fat rises and forms a thick crust; Cornish clotted cream has held protected designation status since 1998, requiring Cornish milk and a minimum fat content of fifty-five per cent, and the golden crust on top is part of the specification. It is eaten on scones with jam, which is where the trouble starts. In Cornwall the jam goes on first and the cream on top; in Devon the cream goes first and the jam on top. The distinction is treated with a seriousness that visitors find funny and locals do not, and it has been the subject of parliamentary comment, newspaper campaigns and a Devon and Cornwall police tweet. The Cornish order has the practical advantage that the cream is easier to spread on jam than on a warm scone.

What you actually see

• The golden crust - the baked top layer required by the designation.
• The jam-first order - the Cornish arrangement, reversed in Devon.
• The fifty-five per cent - the minimum fat content set by protected status.
• The farm producers - small dairies across the county selling direct.

When to go

Year-round; cream teas are served in tea rooms and gardens across Cornwall in every season. Summer is the peak and coastal tea gardens are busiest.

Honest expectations

It is extremely rich and a cream tea is a substantial meal rather than a snack. Mass-produced clotted cream is widely sold and is noticeably duller than farm versions. The Devon and Cornwall argument is genuinely taken seriously and is not a good thing to be flippant about locally.

Nearby

Tea rooms across Cornwall; Devon over the Tamar serves it the other way round.