|
|
|
|
In This Issue:
The REAL Definition
& History of the British Cream Tea
Suffrage Satire |
|
|
I confess to feeling this same emotion over suffrage. The determination of women who worked for the suffrage cause and the lengths they went to is something all of our young people should know. But even determination comes with humor. I'd suggest you make yourself a cup of tea before settling down to read bits of the suffrage satire created by Alice Duer Miller. And once you've finished reading this issue of Sweet Willa, I'm guessing your next step will be to plan a cream tea. How else can you decide if it's the Devonian or Cornish way of eating a scone that best strikes your fancy?
|
|
|
The REAL
Definition & History of the British Cream Tea
A Cream Tea – one of my favorite things in the whole world! Such simplicity and comfort combined with elegance! The Cream Tea is especially associated with the 19th century in Devon, England, but how old is it, really? Where was it invented and when? Components of the cream tea may be older than we think. According to a 2004 article by the BBC, “Local historians in the historic Devon town of Tavistock have unearthed evidence that the cream tea originated there around 1,000 years ago...After piecing together fragments of manuscripts, they've discovered that the people we have to thank for creating Devon's favourite dish are the monks of Tavistock's Benedictine Abbey. The Abbey was established in the 10th century, but was plundered and badly damaged by...Vikings in 997AD...The task [of rebuilding] was undertaken by Ordulf, Earl of Devon. His father Ordgar, Earl of Devon, had been responsible for establishing the Abbey in the first place. Ordulf was helped by local workers, and to reward them, the monks fed them with bread, clotted cream and strawberry preserves.” It only took the addition of tea itself, in the 17th century, to make what we know as the classic Cream Tea. A traditional cream tea is a small affair with a pot or cup of hot tea, a scone or split (a sweet yeasty roll), strawberry jam or preserves, and clotted Devon cream. Today, as in the past, the individual elements of the cream tea are of the highest importance, since they are so simple that any change in quality will be noticeable. Although cream teas are not eaten as a daily measure, but generally saved for special summer occasions, they feature largely in Great Britain's domestic traditions. Many people have very definite ideas about the proper way to enjoy a cream tea, including the right way to eat a scone. According to the BBC, “The jam and cream are piled atop the scone, which is then eaten slowly (with the hands rather than a knife and fork)... For best results the scones should be freshly baked, to the point of them still being warm to the touch. Artificially maintaining the warmth (eg, by keeping them under lights or by reheating them) is unacceptable. The scones should be approximately 2.5" in diameter and should be almost as tall as they are round. ... A good cream tea will include two healthy-sized scones, which should be split horizontally before applying the jam and cream... For a good cream tea one should choose a fairly sweet jam with a smooth texture that is, ideally, red (strawberry or raspberry are perfectly acceptable)... Do not accept poor substitutes, such as those nasty little plastic cuboids full of sticky stuff that are sold on trains and in poor-quality cafés in the name of jam. The jam should be applied to the scone in 'dollops' (ie, large spoonfuls)... It is essential that the cream in a cream tea is clotted cream. Not 'double' cream or 'spooning' cream (whatever that is) but ultra-thick clotted cream, the sort that has to be forcibly removed from its container and will not drop off an upturned knife or spoon in a thousand years... As with the jam, cream should be piled high on the scone, bearing in mind only that which can comfortably fit into one's mouth. To fully experience the pleasure of a cream tea it is important that the eater has black tea. Why black? Adding milk...tends to thicken the texture and can dull the palate, thus seriously reducing the pleasure of eating a cream tea ... something light such as Earl Grey should suffice, although uninitiated black tea drinkers may wish to add a slice of lemon to their cup before consumption.” Traditionally, there are two methods of eating a scone covered in jam and cream: the Cornish (from Cornwall) and the Devonian (from Devon). The Devonian method involves spreading the cream on the half scone and then topping it with the jam; you do this so that the cream can soak into the scone just a bit and reduce its dryness. The Cornish method is the opposite, putting the jam on first and adding the cream last, thereby “sandwiching” the jam between the less-sweet scone and cream. Either method is equally correct and equally delicious. These days, perhaps the most difficult part of the cream tea to obtain in the United States, is the cream that gives the cream tea its name. Real Devon or Devonshire cream comes from Jersey cows raised in Devonshire, England, and contains a higher percentage of fat than cream from other breeds of cattle. Real Devon cream thickens to an almost butter-like consistency when clotted, or condensed by simmering over low heat, which other varieties of cream will not do without the addition of some thickening agent, like sour cream. In order to be called Devon or Devonshire cream in England, the product has to come from Devonshire and originate from the correct breed of cow. All similar products made and sold in other places under the same name are properly called “Mock Devon Cream.” So whether you adhere to the Devonian or the Cornish method of eating your scone, why don’t you put together your own version of a cream tea some time soon? You’ll be glad you did!
Source
List:
Alice Duer Miller (1874-1942) began her career as a brilliant mathematician and teacher who had partially paid her way through school by selling her essays, light fiction, and poetry to national magazines. As a strong supporter of the suffrage movement, she wrote a series of satirical poems originally published in the New York Tribune. These poems were later compiled into the book Are Women People? A Book of Rhymes for Suffrage Times (1915). We've reprinted a selection of the poems below, but the entire collection can be read by visiting: Votes for Women: Selections from the National American Woman Suffrage Association Collection, 1848-1921
The Protected
Sex
There, little
girl, don't read, A Consistent Anti to Her Son"Look at the hazards, the risks, the physical dangers that ladies would be exposed to at the polls." --Anti-suffrage speech
You're
twenty-one to-day, Willie,
You must not
go to the polls, Willie,
They smirch,
degrade and coarsen,
If you've a
boyish fancy
I've guarded
you always, Willie, Our Idea of Nothing at All"I am opposed to woman suffrage, but I am not opposed to woman." --- Anti-suffrage speech of Mr. Webb of North Carolina
O WOMEN, have you
heard the news
O Mr. Webb, how
kind you are
O girls, suppose
that Mr. Webb
To President
Wilson
Wise and just
man--for such I think you are--
Can you believe
that women are not stirred
Home and Where
It Is
Home is where the
husband is,
Woman's place is
home, I wish.
Such Nonsense
Who is it thinks
the vote some use?
Poor Washington,
who meant so well,
And Garibaldi and
Kossuth,
They could not
get it through their heads
Let us, dear
sisters, never make
The Maiden's
Vow
I will avoid
equations,
Through Sturm's
delightful theorems
A Suggested
Campaign Song
We are
waging--can you doubt it?
We are ladylike
and quiet,
Sometimes in
profound seclusion,
A Modern
Proposal
Sylvia, my dear,
I would be yours with pleasure,
Find her a fad, a
job, an occupation,
Or, if the
suffrage doctrine fails to charm her,
|
|
|
The Jeremy Project is a not-for-profit organization
dedicated to photographing children with special
medical needs. Click
here to see
photos
and to learn more about this worthy organization. |
|
|
Do you have
prose, poetry,
or photos
that you'd like
You mean you're not yet a subscriber?!
|
A
monthly review for tea adventurers 
