Westcountry cream tea war is resolved... and Devon comes out on top

Food scientist Dr Stuart Farrimond is at it again. Not satisfied with producing the formula for the perfect burger, he’s turned to the cream tea – and attempted to resolve the Westcountry war over whether it’s jam first, then cream on top (as in Cornwall) or vice versa (the Devon method).

And the Devonians have it, by a whisker – with 57% of an ‘expert’ panel choosing cream first. It seems cream’s relative viscosity makes it a more suitable base.

Of more importance, apparently, is the scone: cream:jam ratio, which Dr F says should be 4:3:3 – so a 40g scone should be served with 30g of cream and 30g of jam.

But it’s not all bad news for the Cornish – the relative ease of assembly of the Devon cream tea means they tend to be slightly more calorific. So west of the border they’ve still got room for a pasty or two. Proper job!