Clotted Cream - Literature and Folklore

Literature and Folklore

It was mentioned in The Shepheardes Calendar, a poem by Edmund Spenser in 1579:

"Ne would she scorn the simple shepherd swain,
For she would call him often heam,
And give him curds and clouted cream."

As with many Cornish and Devonian icons, clotted cream has become entrenched in local folklore. For example, one myth tells of Jenny who enticed the giant Blunderbore (sometimes called Moran) by feeding him clotted cream. He eventually fell in love with her and made her his fourth wife. Another myth, from Dartmoor, tells of a princess who wanted to marry an elven prince, but according to tradition had to bathe in pure cream first. Unfortunately, a witch who wanted the prince for her daughter kept souring the cream. Eventually, the prince offered the princess clotted cream, which the witch was unable to sour.

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