Sunday 1 July 2012

Anyone for Tea?

Good Evening Lovely Readers and a very warm welcome to new followers Lucylastica2, Carol Crane and Islay Lass - thank you so much for joining me!

You may or may not be following my other blog, charting my successes (mostly) with the Harcombe Diet http://newbeginningswithfood.blogspot.co.uk/ .... well today I took the day off and we went out for afternoon tea. I should add that we had done a couple of days hard work in the garden (will blog about that later) and felt that we deserved it. Am I trying to justify myself? Mmmmm.....

Anyway, this little gem is fairly local and we'd never been so we thought we'd check it out.





Mr Thrifty and I are not of the hunting fraternity so not sure about the name, but inside is a veritable delight of Victoriana with tea served in bone china cups. Everything was presented beautifully and tasted pretty good too!


Pretty bone china with Lady Grey tea
How do you pronounce 'scone'?
Victoria Sandwich - my Nanny was the best in the world at making these - FACT
Mr Thrifty's coffee cake was almost gone before I could photograph it!
Ginger lemonade and a smoked salmon sandwich
Earl Grey 
 #3 wondered whether potato crisps were around in the Victorian era (1837 - 1901) and a quick look on google via a mobile phone told us that they most definitely were...


Our friend Mr Wikipedia revealed all....


"According to a traditional story, the original potato chip recipe was created in Saratoga Springs, New York on August 24, 1853. Agitated by a patron repeatedly sending his fried potatoes back because they were too thick, soggy and bland, resort hotel chef, George Crum, decided to slice the potatoes as thin as possible, frying them until crisp and seasoning them with extra salt. Contrary to Crum's expectation, the patron (sometimes identified as Cornelius Vanderbilt) loved the new chips and they soon became a regular item on the lodge's menu under the name "Saratoga Chips". Alternative explanations of the provenance of potato chips date them to recipes in Shilling Cookery for the People by Alexis Soyer (1845) or Mary Randolph's The Virginia House-Wife (1824).

In the 20th century, potato chips spread beyond chef-cooked restaurant fare and began to be mass produced for home consumption. The Dayton, Ohio-based Mike-sell's Potato Chip Company, founded in 1910, calls itself the "oldest potato chip company in the United States". New England-based Tri-Sum Potato Chips, originally founded in 1908 as the Leominster Potato Chip Company, in Leominster, Massachusetts claim to be America's first potato chip manufacturer. Chips sold in markets were usually sold in tins or scooped out of storefront glass bins and delivered by horse and wagon. The early potato chip bag was wax paper with the ends ironed or stapled together. At first, potato chips were packaged in barrels or tins, which left chips at the bottom stale and crumbled. Laura Scudder, an entrepreneur in Monterey Park, California started having her workers take home sheets of wax paper to iron into the form of bags, which were filled with chips at her factory the next day. This pioneering method reduced crumbling and kept the chips fresh and crisp longer. This innovation, along with the invention of cellophane, allowed potato chips to become a mass market product. Today, chips are packaged in plastic bags, with nitrogen gas blown in prior to sealing to lengthen shelf life, and provide protection against crushing."

Image courtesy of Google

So, diet again tomorrow, but I did enjoy my tea!

How have you spent your weekend? Doing fun things I hope.
Love Mrs Thrifty
xxx

24 comments:

  1. Delicious tea, Earl Grey always feels special - I'm a scone rhymes with stone type of person (bit of a southerner!) x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Me too Grace, but Mr Thrifty is of the other school - as in 'gone'. Love Earl Grey and Lady Grey, which is a little lighter, too xx

      Delete
  2. How lovely and delicious it all looks. Thanks for sharing about potato chips too.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I had no idea that Crisps were around in the Victorian era..! Glad that you had a nice time. Jx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mr T and I had guessed post-war, so we all had a surprise when we found the facts! xx

      Delete
  4. Just regard this as a little treat because you are doing so well.

    What a wonderful experience. I love eating off bone china plates! I have acquired 1 or 2 too many from Mr Sft's point of view.

    I love afternoon tea and will be holding my own in my garden when Auntie Babs comes over. I will be eating everything then, only not much of it.

    Sft x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your garden will be perfect for that with its lovely English cottage feel - I am sure Auntie Babs will be delighted. Diet again today though! xx

      Delete
  5. Wow - that place looks amazing! We are going to have to try it out soon. I pronounce Scone like Cone with an S at the front - although most people I know disagree with me! Glad you had a nice time.
    Claire

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I do too Claire. It is delightful - it would be worth the trip, although not cheap - £12.95 for tea (pot of tea, a sandwich and a scone with jam and cream), pots of tea were just over £2 and cakes and scones around £2.50. Sandwiches from £4.50 to £6.00 (ish). They did do a little tea for tinies but #3 and #4 would have laughed us off the planet had we suggested that. The decor was so lovely though. It is between Beccles and Bungay, on the back road xx

      Delete
  6. Mrs. Thrifty, where did you find that MIKE SELLS POTATO CHIP TIN? I had to smile and see where you are from...United Kingdom? The main MIKE SELLS, I believe is just north of where I live. They were created in DAYTON, OHIO! At least, (that is what I was told). Did you have some or just a tin? Anyway, have a nice week! From one sweetie to another...Roxie

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh how funny Roxie ... what a small world eh? I pinched the image from Google - would love to try a real one though! xx

      Delete
  7. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you for visiting Chy xx

      Delete
    2. Here's what I wrote before I deleted the whole thing when I only meant to delete one thing!

      Looks like a cozy place to visit and treat yourself. No need to make excuses for taking time out for you! I truly think when we have to wait for something or we are rewarding ourselves, we enjoy it even more!

      I worked extra hard this weekend and am off now to enjoy the last raspberry and white chocolate scone before bed, a reward for all the time spent scrubbing and organizing!

      Delete
  8. How perfectly adorable - your tea treat looks amazing. I pronounce scone (as in cone) - but once you've eaten it then it's scone - as in gone!!!

    The fireworks are loud right now for Canada Day celebrations here - the weekend has been hectic but a lot of fun x

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was, it was. When you come here, we will go there! I do the - Mr T says it the other way. Sounds a lot of fun there right now. I miss it and you. Have been trying to find vintage cups and saucers around here - no luck at all because they have obviously become really popular. the cafe we went to were selling them for £12.50 each!!! xx

      Delete
  9. I wish I could have jumped right in the photos to have joined you and Mr. Thrifty. I do so love Earl Grey Tea, with my cousin just recently giving me some Lady Grey, I have not yet had the chance to try yet ... Thanks for the "tater chip" history xxx

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oooh do try it - it's wonderful - and we can dream Cindy eh? One day maybe xx

      Delete
  10. Hope you had your little fingers out, when drinking your tea!

    Kay :)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Hi - your blog is lovely, I have decided to start my own blog, and I found yours whilst I was browsing around for inspiration! I am just off to have a look at your other blog too, as healthy eating is a big interest of mine. I love the information about the crisps, very interesting. Hopefully by this time next month I will have my own little spot in blogland, I can't wait to get started, but will try to go slowly as I am a bit of a perfectionist and will want it to be just right before it hits the road! Your blog looks so inspiring, I hope mine will be something like this. Yvonne :-)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Thank you for joining me Yvonne and for your kind comments. I do hope you get your blog up and running soon - I shall be joining when you do. Like you I am a perfectionist, but I just took the plunge and it seems okay - it has a momentum all of its own and I have met such lovely people along the way xx

    ReplyDelete
  13. Do read this super article about crisps http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/sep/01/crisps-british [I live in Leicester so Walkers is Very Big round here!!]
    And I say scone to rhyme with John, NOT scone to rhyme with Joan - but here in Leics they say that makes me posh!!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for commenting - I do enjoy reading them xx