The Cream of Devonshire

by Helen Gaffney

Devon is a lovely county in the West Country found between Cornwall to the west and Somerset and Dorset to the east. It has many foods and dishes in common with its neighbours as well as certain specialities from the county and the towns within. Devon is one of the largest counties in England and has an outstanding natural setting and a rich heritage. The county has a strong sense of history and its environment has always been an inspiration to artists, poets and musicians as well as a ource of recreation.

Probably the things that Devon is best known for are Clotted Cream, also known as Devonshire Cream, and Scrumpy (farmhouse cider).

Clotted cream, rich and thick, spread on warm scones with home-made strawberry jam, is one of life's little pleasures. If you are on holiday in Devon, then you can get clotted cream virtually anywhere. Outside of the West Country you may need to have a go at making your own. To do so, it is essential to use either double or whipping cream or unhomogenised milk. The cream or milk is placed in a shallow tray and the tray put into a very low oven. After 2-3 hours the cream should be on the top in a thick crusty layer and the watery layer at the bottom may be discarded.

Really traditional Devon Scrumpy looks like bright orange juice with pieces of apple floating in it. It is made using Devon apples which, traditionally, was made using windfall apples, which would be bruised and not suitable for eating or cooking. They are also perfect for Scrumpy because they are less ripe and therefore sharper and drier, with impurities from the ground to help fermentation.

Another well-known alcoholic beverage from Devon is Plymouth Gin, a traditional drink of the Royal Navy. The great naval port Plymouth is, as every naval gin drinker knows, home to this famous gin. After two hundred years it is still distilled at the oldest operating gin distillery in the world. This is sited in buildings which originally date from 1431 and have been home to Dominican Monks, and to the Pilgrim Fathers on their last night before making their historic voyage on the Mayflower in 1620. For almost two centuries British Naval Officers have been sustained by Plymouth Gin and no ship left port without it. At 57% abv (100° proof) the Royal Navy's Plymouth Gin was a potent drink and for most of the twentieth century over 800 barrels were supplied to Her Majesty's Fleet every year.

The tiny fishing villages, such as Clovelly, dotted along the magnificent but unforgiving North Devon coastline, have provided fresh fish for generations. Although the great mackerel and herring shoals which once brought fame and fortune to these villages are a thing of the past, there are still some small fishing boats providing fresh fish today.

The North Devon town of Barnstaple is known for the traditional Fair held there every year and from this fair came the dessert called Barnstaple Fair Pears. The pear orchards of Devon used to supply stalls at the annual Barnstaple Fair and these pears would originally have been simmered in local cider or Scrumpy. This dessert makes the perfect end to a meal with its spicy flavour and rich syrupy liquid complemented by clotted cream. Another famous dessert from the county is Devonshire Junket, also known as Damask Cream. This is a lovely delicate and subtly fragrant dish not to be confused with junket sold in packets.

Devon is also well known for little buns called Devonshire Splits that are very similar to Cornish Splits although smaller. Cassell's Dictionary of Cookery (1875) defines Devonshire buns as ordinary bun dough using cream instead of milk. The result would have been a soft, light, yet rich dough. The use of the word 'split' to describe a bun or roll that has been split to receive jam, cream or another filling is first recorded in 1905 according to the Oxford English Dictionary. The reason why these buns carried the alternative name of 'Chudleighs' is unknown. The fact that the small Devon market town of Chudleigh was visited by a catastrophic fire in 1807 that started in a bakehouse in Mill Lane is probably coincidental.

Devon is just as famous for an apple cake, very similar to Dorset Apple Cake or Somerset Apple Cake. It is made from a rich buttery mixture with apples and sultanas and a lovely crumbly topping. Another baked treat that comes from the county is the Devon Flat Biscuit which is made with clotted cream and is surprisingly easy to prepare.

As well as clotted cream, Devon's rich creamy milk is also made into a number of delightful cheeses. Devon Blue (made from cows milk) is hand-made by Ticklemore in Totnes, Devon, who also makes Beenleigh and Harbourne cheeses. Devon Blue is matured for four months and is strongly flavoured. Beenleigh Blue is a delicious tangy ewes milk cheese made from the milk of Dorset-Friesland cross ewes that graze on the banks of the River Dart. Known as the Roquefort of Devon, it is matured for about seven months from ewes which are only milked between March and July and so is only seasonally available. Harbourne Blue is a lovely goats milk cheese made by the Ticklemore Cheese Company with milk from goats grazed on the edge of Dartmoor. The flavour is intense but not too goaty, the paste is hard and white with greeny-blue mould. Belstone is a creamy farmhouse Devon cheese made from unpasteurised milk and with vegetarian rennet. Curworthy is a 450g (1lb) truckle of creamy Devon cheese made to a traditional seventeenth century recipe and coated in black wax. It is a younger pasteurised version of Belstone. Devon Oke is made in Okehampton, Devon and is a mature Curworthy.

Which all goes to show that, although Devon has many traditions in common with its neighbours, there are still plenty of truly Devon-inspired delights to be had from this beautiful West Country county.