QM2 Afternoon Tea - Scones and Clotted Cream

[RK-NC]

We are on the westbound crossing now and watched the supply loading operation in Southampton on Sunday, the 15th. We saw pallets of this: https://www.macphie.com/products/scone-mix  and boxes of this https://www.roddas.co.uk/things-we-make/cornish-clotted-cream/

 

We've attended afternoon tea in the Queen's Room twice and were only offered whatever tea they were serving from the stainless steel teapots. But when we asked for it, they did bring a teapot of hot water though for the (herbal) teabags we had brought with us from Kings Court. 

[NE John]

With that said, Cunard promotes ship-made scones as part of Afternoon Tea. The marketing piece is on the Cunard Website:

 

https://www.cunard.com/en-us/cunard-stories/the-cunard-scone

[D&N]

I suppose 10kg packs of scone mix make sense. It will be as easy to store as the individual ingredients. Other than varying the water quantity, glazing or adding fruit, the results are likely to remain consistent.

Roddas do seem to have a frozen version of their cream on their website, perhaps that is what Cunard use.

I'd assumed they would use bought stuff while it lasted from Southampton and make any further supplies after that. I thought that might be why it is not always clotted that is served.

[buchanan101]

29 minutes ago, D&N said:

I suppose 10kg packs of scone mix make sense. It will be as easy to store as the individual ingredients. Other than varying the water quantity, glazing or adding fruit, the results are likely to remain consistent.

Roddas do seem to have a frozen version of their cream on their website, perhaps that is what Cunard use.

I'd assumed they would use bought stuff while it lasted from Southampton and make any further supplies after that. I thought that might be why it is not always clotted that is served.

This is a shock, and maybe I will have to cancel my upcoming Alaska (ex Seattle) and New England (ex NYC cruises), though surely they can source clotted cream in large US cities?

 

Nothing else is the same

 

[D&N]

10 minutes ago, buchanan101 said:

This is a shock, and maybe I will have to cancel my upcoming Alaska (ex Seattle) and New England (ex NYC cruises), though surely they can source clotted cream in large US cities?

 

Nothing else is the same

 

 

There are recipes online for making it. Some take longer than others, and shorter ones may be  more labour intensive.

[exlondoner]

11 minutes ago, buchanan101 said:

This is a shock, and maybe I will have to cancel my upcoming Alaska (ex Seattle) and New England (ex NYC cruises), though surely they can source clotted cream in large US cities?

 

Nothing else is the same

 

Can clotted cream come from anywhere than SW England and the Channel Isles?

[buchanan101]

Just now, D&N said:

There are recipes online for making it. Some take longer than others, and shorter ones may be  more labour intensive.

They aren't going to be making it on board?

 

[buchanan101]

1 minute ago, exlondoner said:

Can clotted cream come from anywhere than SW England and the Channel Isles?

In theory can't be made in the US...

 

https://www.foodrepublic.com/1369939/what-is-clotted-cream-illegal-united-states/

[D&N]

1 minute ago, buchanan101 said:

They aren't going to be making it on board?

 

No idea. I just thought that being relatively difficult to make might be an explanation for it not always being available. On a World Cruise they'd probably have difficulty sourcing it.

Perhaps they do if there is spare capacity in the kitchens.

[buchanan101]

...and this is presumably pre-Brexit but it has a protected name in UK and EU (though that protection may have been rolled over as I assume EU products have Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status in the UK: Champagne for example

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/clotted_cream#:~:text=If you buy an ice-cream in Devon or,giving its name EU-wide protection from potential imitators.

[buchanan101]

Note to moderators - this CAN'T be off topic - it's a vital ingredient of a Cunard cruise...

 

...In Betty's in Ilkley (of moor fame) this month I had to have a cream tea..to remind me of Cunard cruises...

[QuestionEverything]

Was on a crossing to NYC in June.

Have previously posted this.

What ever the ingredients, and from where ever, the scone and cream were not pleasant. The scone was dry and tasteless, the cream a weird yellowish/grey color, dumped on the side of the plate.

OP, yes the tea was provided from big stainless steel tea pots.

An altogether 1x experience.

You want a wonderful afternoon tea - try Oceania.

[buchanan101]

1 minute ago, QuestionEverything said:

Was on a crossing to NYC in June.

Have previously posted this.

What ever the ingredients, and from where ever, the scone and cream were not pleasant. The scone was dry and tasteless, the cream a weird yellowish/grey color, dumped on the side of the plate.

OP, yes the tea was provided from big stainless steel tea pots.

An altogether 1x experience.

You want a wonderful afternoon tea - try Oceania.

That's not good...TO NYC... our only two experiences, both ex-Southampton had genuine clotted cream for all 7 days. The Cunard scones can be a touch dry, but that's often the case with scones

[Victoria2]

1 hour ago, buchanan101 said:

...and this is presumably pre-Brexit but it has a protected name in UK and EU (though that protection may have been rolled over as I assume EU products have Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) status in the UK: Champagne for example

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/clotted_cream#:~:text=If you buy an ice-cream in Devon or,giving its name EU-wide protection from potential imitators.

Only Cornish Clotted Cream has PDO status.

 

[buchanan101]

7 minutes ago, Victoria2 said:

Only Cornish Clotted Cream has PDO status.

 

It is called "Cornish Clotted Cream" for that, so anyone can call something just "clotted cream". Interesting

 

https://www.gov.uk/protected-food-drink-names/cornish-clotted-cream

[RK-NC]

11 hours ago, NE John said:

https://www.cunard.com/en-us/cunard-stories/the-cunard-scone

 

I'm an avid baker and this looks like a great recipe. It's dated 2020 so perhaps this is how scones were made on the ship several years ago. The pallets of scone mix we saw have all the ingredients included (so powdered milk and eggs) and on the website I posted, it says "just add water"  We thought the scones were pretty good. The ones with fruit added have more flavor. Afternoon tea was a fun experience the 2 times we went. 

[NE John]

1 hour ago, buchanan101 said:

In theory can't be made in the US...

 

https://www.foodrepublic.com/1369939/what-is-clotted-cream-illegal-united-states/

We don’t know what clotted cream is over here…definitely a UK product.

[3rdGenCunarder]

2 hours ago, buchanan101 said:

That's not good...TO NYC... our only two experiences, both ex-Southampton had genuine clotted cream for all 7 days. The Cunard scones can be a touch dry, but that's often the case with scones

 

By the time you load them up with jam and cream, any dryness doesn't matter. 

 

46 minutes ago, NE John said:

We don’t know what clotted cream is over here…definitely a UK product.

 

I have seen jars of "double cream" in the supermarket. I think it comes from Devon.

[exlondoner]

3 minutes ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

By the time you load them up with jam and cream, any dryness doesn't matter. 

 

 

I have seen jars of "double cream" in the supermarket. I think it comes from Devon.

Double cream is a completely different kettle of fish, so to speak. In the UK, any cream with a 48%+ fat content.

Edited September 19 by exlondoner

[3rdGenCunarder]

6 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

Double cream is a completely different kettle of fish, so to speak. In the UK, any cream with a 48%+ fat content.

 

So it can be pasteurized, which would make it legal over here?

[exlondoner]

1 minute ago, 3rdGenCunarder said:

 

So it can be pasteurized, which would make it legal over here?

Certainly the stuff you buy in supermarkets is pasteurised.

[RalphWiggum]

I’m good with Roddas clotted cream.  I have seen it in UK supermarkets and have had it served to me in individual packets a few times before in various UK tea houses. I’m by no means an expert on what’s considered the best clotted cream in the UK, but that brand seemed ubiquitous in England. Glad we have some definitive proof they’re using real clotted cream. 
 

As to the scones from a just add water mix, I'm a little surprised. 😮 I have made scones from Cunard’s scone recipe before and assumed (actually, was given the impression by Cunard) that it was just a scaled-down version of the recipe used on the ship.  That said, I actually am an excellent from-scratch baker (it’s one of the only things I will brag about).  But there are only two foods where I go for a mix/premade—Trader Joe’s frozen pie crusts and Bisquick or the rebranded Aunt Jemima “just add water” pancake mix. I simply can’t make either better from scratch.  And it’s not worth the time and effort to me to try to make something from scratch that not quite as good.  I do think it’s due to the fact that pie crusts, pancakes and scones are all simple quick breads, so you can get away with a mix. 

 

Last, I’m glad that Cunard buys their clotted cream in bulk and portions out individual servings.  I wish they did that with the jams.  The little jars are adorable but so wasteful.  Thankfully, they do serve jam in a large bowl as well.

Edited September 19 by RalphWiggum

[RalphWiggum]

They do sell clotted cream in the US.  You can find it at Whole Foods and Big Y and similar supermarkets that offer more specialty items.  It is made with pasteurized milk , comes in 4.oz jars and is required to be refrigerated after opening.  Unfortunately, it is usually around $10 (that was three years ago, probably much more now), so pricey.  Even though it’s shelf stable, I have seen retailers keep it in the refrigerated section next to crème fraiche or mascarpone.  
 

It tastes fine but it’s super thick and not as fresh tasting as the clotted cream i have had in the UK.  Which is to be expected as it’s a shelf-stable dairy product. 

Edited September 19 by RalphWiggum

[Victoria2]

Clotted cream is shelf stable for up to two weeks and doesn't have to be refrigerated until opened.

[RalphWiggum]

I think we have a different definition of shelf stable in the US.   If you look at the Roddas website, you can have their clotted cream shipped in the UK but it says it’s shipped chilled, not frozen, and lasts for ten days.   
 

In the US, the jarred clotted cream product will sit on warehouse and supermarket shelves for months unrefrigerated before purchase.   After opening it is required to be used within days.   (Kind of similar to UHT milk, which they sell in Europe, and also in the US in juice boxes, and which is good for up to three to six months on the shelf, and when opened needs to be refrigerated and used within days.)

Edited September 19 by RalphWiggum