Fruit Scones
Where did fruit scones originate from?A scone is a single-serving cake or quick bread. They are usually made of wheat, barley or oatmeal, with baking powderas a leavening agent, and are baked on sheet pans. They are often lightly sweetened and are occasionally glazed. The scone is a basic component of the cream tea or Devonshire tea. It differs from a teacake and other sweet buns, which are made with yeast. A scone is in some senses a type of pastry since it is made with essentially the same ingredients as shortcrust, though with different proportions of fat to flour.The original scone was round and flat, usually as large as a medium-sized plate. It was made with unleavened oats and baked on a griddle (or girdle, in Scots), then cut into triangular sections for serving. Today, many would call the large round cake a bannock, and call the triangles 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 and Irish 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, although some brands are hexagonal as this shape may be tessellated for space efficiency. When prepared at home, they may take various shapes including triangles, rounds and squares. Baking scones at home is often closely tied to heritage baking. They tend to be made using family recipes rather than recipe books, since it is often a family member who holds the "best" and most-treasured recipe. Tips & Techniques:1. A variety of dried fruits can be used in these scones. Apple and apricot make a great combination.
2. Rubbing in requires the use of the fingertips only – the rest of the hand should remain clean. It is important that the pieces of butter are cut into small cubes so that the mixture can be rubbed in to a consistency of breadcrumbs, with no large lumps of butter. 3. The best way to serve a fruit scone roll is buttered. Important Tools & Equipment:
How do I make scones? |
Learning Intention:To gain an understanding of the “rubbing-in” method when baking.
Success Criteria:
1. I can rub the butter into the
flour until there are no specks of butter left in the flour mixture, and it
resembles fine breadcrumbs.
2. I will use the tips of my fingers to rub the butter in. Food Preparation Skills Required:
Cooking Methods:1. Baking
What is the difference between a "use by" and a "best before" date???Food labels have date marks to tell us about safe shelf life.
These marks help us tell how long food can be kept before it begins to deteriorate. All food with a shelf life of less than 2 years must be date marked. 'use-by': foods must be eaten or thrown away by the date
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