[Supermarket Spotlight] Clotted Cream

The unfamiliar but intriguing taste,

If you go to a mart, you can roughly tell what kinds of foods are appearing on tables these days. Foods that were popular in mukbang shows are commercialized and fill the shelves, and when seafood is preferred, seafood is abundantly displayed, while products decrease when meat consumption declines. Fruits known as health foods are made into various forms such as concentrates, diluted liquids, and sprays, attracting consumers' attention.

Recently, frozen products and ready-to-eat meals have noticeably increased. The variety of sauces has expanded, and dairy products have also become much more diverse.

It is unfamiliar but intriguing?the taste of British-style scones is accompanied by clotted cream. Clotted cream is a spread-type cream made from milk in the southwest region of England. When you open the lid, it looks somewhat like cream cheese, and its taste and texture are similar to butter, but it is neither cream cheese nor butter; it is clotted cream. The term "clotted" means "curdled" or "coagulated." Clotted cream is a thick yellow cream obtained by heating unpasteurized milk. After heating, if left in a shallow pan for several hours, the cream content rises to the surface and forms clumps, which are the clotted cream.

Among England’s various tea cultures, there are "cream tea" and "afternoon tea." Cream tea refers to a lighter menu consisting of scones served with clotted cream and strawberry jam along with black tea, compared to afternoon tea. It is common in England to enjoy scones with clotted cream. Of course, clotted cream is also used as a spread for bread, pancakes, waffles, canap?s, and sandwiches. Its soft and rich milky flavor pairs especially well with sweet jams.

Text & Photo by Imi Kyung (Culinary Researcher, Naturement http://blog.naver.com/poutian)