Remembering tea-time
The writer Erica Jong, a frequent visitor to Britain, extolled the pleasures of English food: “I could live the rest of my life on high tea, with milk and sugar, and scones with cream and jam, and, of course, cucumber and smoked salmon sandwiches without crusts. I like the way that teatime runs into cocktail hour. After the little sandwiches, we wade right into gin and tonic. A civilised country indeed.” Very civilised, I agree. Yet like so many others, Ms Jong confuses high tea with the other meal known simply as tea.
I find it curious how misunderstood the concept of tea as a meal really is. American food writers are particularly prone to this, and I can only assume that they think ‘high tea’ sounds grander than afternoon tea or just plain old tea, rather like high table and high master. When I explain to them that high tea was a meal served - particularly in the north of England and rural areas - between 5 and 6 pm when the breadwinner returned home from work, they are surprised. And when they learn that such a meal might have included ham or kippers, bacon and eggs or a pork pie, or sausages and beans, and that tea or beer would be served with it, and that it was called tea and not dinner because dinner was the hot meal eaten at midday, they are surprised and confused.
An authentic English tea is a deeply pleasurable experience. The food is easy to eat, a far cry from the cream-filled, fruit-laden confections of French patisserie. The habit of breaking the afternoon with tea and accompanying light food began with the English aristocracy in the 18th century, when the mistress of the house would entertain friends. As with breakfast, but unlike the formality of lunch and dinner, there was no staff to serve at tea-time, allowing for greater privacy.
By Victorian times, the tea-time menu was set: hot tea-cakes, muffins or scones, dainty savoury sandwiches, small cakes and biscuits, and one or two large cakes for slicing. There is no reason at all to depart from that formula today, for tea is an institution that has stood the test of time.