The dominant pronunciation differs by area. Pronunciation rhyming homemade bubble mixture nz “tone” is strongest in the Midlands and Republic of Ireland though it seems to have less prominent patches in Cornwall and Essex. And ordered me a buttered scone. The Oxford English Dictionary reports that the first mention of the word was in 1513.
The origin of the word scone is obscure and may derive from different sources. British tea table, where their similar names merged into one. It is believed that historically scones were round and flat, usually as large as a medium-sized plate. Today, many would call the large round cake a bannock.
In Scotland, the words are often used interchangeably. When baking powder became available to the masses, scones began to be the oven-baked, well-leavened items we know today. Scones sold commercially are usually round, although some brands are hexagonal as this shape may be tessellated for space efficiency. When prepared at home, they may take various shapes including triangles, rounds and squares. Baking scones at home is often closely tied to heritage baking.
British scones are often lightly sweetened, but may also be savoury. They frequently include raisins, currants, cheese or dates. Other common varieties include the dropped scone, or drop scone, like a pancake, after the method of dropping the batter onto the griddle or frying pan to cook it, and the lemonade scone, which is made with lemonade and cream instead of butter and milk. There is also the fruit scone or fruited scone, which contains currants, sultanas, peel and glacé cherries, which is just like a plain round scone with the fruit mixed into the dough.
In some countries one may also encounter savoury varieties of scone which may contain or be topped with combinations of cheese, onion, bacon, etc. Scones can be presented with various toppings and condiments, typically butter, jam and cream. Pumpkin scones, made by adding mashed cooked pumpkin to the dough mixture, had increased exposure during the period when Florence Bjelke-Petersen was in the public eye. In Hungary, a pastry very similar to the British version exists under the name “pogácsa”. The name has been adopted by several neighbouring nations’ languages. Pogácsa is almost always savoury and served with varied seasonings and toppings, like dill and cheese.