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Scone
A scone (/skɒn/ SKON or /skoʊn/ SKOHN) is a traditional British and Irish baked good, popular in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. In the US, Scones are a different baked product from the rest of the world, usually sweeter, triangular in shape and served on their own. Scones are usually made of either wheat flour or oatmeal, with baking powder as a leavening agent, and baked on sheet pans, or fried in a frying pan. A scone can be either lightly sweetened or savoury, and can be occasionally glazed with egg wash. The sweetened scone is a basic component of the cream tea, and the afternoon tea. It differs from teacakes and other types of sweet breads that are made with yeast. Scones were chosen as Ireland's representative for Café Europe during the Austrian presidency of the European Union in 2006.
The pronunciation of the word within the English-speaking world varies, with some pronouncing it /skɒn/ (rhymes with "gone"), and others /skoʊn/ (rhymes with "tone"). The dominant pronunciation differs by area. Pronunciation rhyming with "tone" is strongest in the English Midlands and Ireland, though it seems to have less prominent patches in Cornwall and Essex. The pronunciation rhyming with "gone" is strongest in Northern England and Scotland, although this also seems to be the favoured pronunciation in Southern England, the Home Counties, and East Anglia. Natives of Ireland and the United States mainly use the /skoʊn/ pronunciation. British dictionaries usually show the /skɒn/ form as the preferred pronunciation, while recognising the /skoʊn/ form.
The difference in pronunciation is alluded to in a poem:
I asked the maid in dulcet tone
To order me a buttered scone;
The silly girl has been and gone
And ordered me a buttered scone.
The origin of the word scone is obscure and may derive from several sources. The most widely accepted origin of 'scone' is the Scots Gaelic term sgonn, meaning a large lump or mass, reflecting its original form as a rustic, hand-shaped bread, with a mention in Gavin Douglas's 1513 poem, Aeneid. Other proposed etymologies, such as Middle Dutch schoonbrood (fine white bread), are less commonly supported in linguistic studies. The Middle Low German term schöne, meaning fine bread, may also have played a role in the origination of this word.
On the other hand, Sheila MacNiven Cameron derives the word from the town of Scone (/skuːn/ ⓘ) (Scots: Scone, Scottish Gaelic: Sgàin) in Scotland, the ancient capital where Scottish monarchs were crowned, and on whose Stone of Scone the monarchs of the United Kingdom are still crowned today.
In regard to Griddle scones, in the Scots language and the Northumbrian English dialect, a griddle is called a girdle. The transposition of the sounds is due to linguistic metathesis.
What a scone is, either a bread or a cake, is a debate that is often discussed. The Oxford Companion to Food by Alan Davidson names the scone as a cake, which is also the description used by both the Oxford and Cambridge Dictionaries. In 2018, in a discussion on Facebook users could not agree if scones were a bread, cake or should be in their own category. Food writers and producers have also stated its neither a bread or a cake, as they are richer than bread, but not as rich as cake, with a texture of its own. Unlike bread, scone dough is not kneaded but lightly worked, while cake is made with a batter. The Food Standards Australia New Zealand agency classify them not as a bread or a cake, but in their own category Scones and Rock Cakes.
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Scone
A scone (/skɒn/ SKON or /skoʊn/ SKOHN) is a traditional British and Irish baked good, popular in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. In the US, Scones are a different baked product from the rest of the world, usually sweeter, triangular in shape and served on their own. Scones are usually made of either wheat flour or oatmeal, with baking powder as a leavening agent, and baked on sheet pans, or fried in a frying pan. A scone can be either lightly sweetened or savoury, and can be occasionally glazed with egg wash. The sweetened scone is a basic component of the cream tea, and the afternoon tea. It differs from teacakes and other types of sweet breads that are made with yeast. Scones were chosen as Ireland's representative for Café Europe during the Austrian presidency of the European Union in 2006.
The pronunciation of the word within the English-speaking world varies, with some pronouncing it /skɒn/ (rhymes with "gone"), and others /skoʊn/ (rhymes with "tone"). The dominant pronunciation differs by area. Pronunciation rhyming with "tone" is strongest in the English Midlands and Ireland, though it seems to have less prominent patches in Cornwall and Essex. The pronunciation rhyming with "gone" is strongest in Northern England and Scotland, although this also seems to be the favoured pronunciation in Southern England, the Home Counties, and East Anglia. Natives of Ireland and the United States mainly use the /skoʊn/ pronunciation. British dictionaries usually show the /skɒn/ form as the preferred pronunciation, while recognising the /skoʊn/ form.
The difference in pronunciation is alluded to in a poem:
I asked the maid in dulcet tone
To order me a buttered scone;
The silly girl has been and gone
And ordered me a buttered scone.
The origin of the word scone is obscure and may derive from several sources. The most widely accepted origin of 'scone' is the Scots Gaelic term sgonn, meaning a large lump or mass, reflecting its original form as a rustic, hand-shaped bread, with a mention in Gavin Douglas's 1513 poem, Aeneid. Other proposed etymologies, such as Middle Dutch schoonbrood (fine white bread), are less commonly supported in linguistic studies. The Middle Low German term schöne, meaning fine bread, may also have played a role in the origination of this word.
On the other hand, Sheila MacNiven Cameron derives the word from the town of Scone (/skuːn/ ⓘ) (Scots: Scone, Scottish Gaelic: Sgàin) in Scotland, the ancient capital where Scottish monarchs were crowned, and on whose Stone of Scone the monarchs of the United Kingdom are still crowned today.
In regard to Griddle scones, in the Scots language and the Northumbrian English dialect, a griddle is called a girdle. The transposition of the sounds is due to linguistic metathesis.
What a scone is, either a bread or a cake, is a debate that is often discussed. The Oxford Companion to Food by Alan Davidson names the scone as a cake, which is also the description used by both the Oxford and Cambridge Dictionaries. In 2018, in a discussion on Facebook users could not agree if scones were a bread, cake or should be in their own category. Food writers and producers have also stated its neither a bread or a cake, as they are richer than bread, but not as rich as cake, with a texture of its own. Unlike bread, scone dough is not kneaded but lightly worked, while cake is made with a batter. The Food Standards Australia New Zealand agency classify them not as a bread or a cake, but in their own category Scones and Rock Cakes.