For you folks from the British Isles, what is the consistency of clotted cream supposed to be? Thickness- and consistency-wise, is it closer to sour cream? Refrigerated butter? Room-temperature butter?

It's not readily available in the USA (except at specialty import shops [where it's way over-priced]) so I have no real experience using it. I purchased some of the over-priced imported stuff once. Although it is from England, something tells me that it's nothing like what you can pick up locally in England. This clotted cream I purchased poured just like syrup (kind of goes against what I read in a particular scone recipe that says "put a dollop of clotted cream." I don't know about you, but I have a really hard time imagining creating a "dollop" with something syrupy.)

I tried making it myself once. At room temperature it was nice and "dollop-y." But once refrigerated, it thickened up like [refrigerated] butter. I'm making a second batch from a slightly different recipe (it's still in the works so I'm not sure how this batch will turn out.)

Interesting. I would say that the consistency should be about the same as room temperature butter in a cool room, but with a granular crust on top. Or, something like the consistency of Italian ice cream (but again, with the granular crust on top). The consistency of clotted cream should not change at all when it is put in the fridge. The only time the consistency changes is if you put it in something really hot, when it melts, or when you freeze it.

We don't do a lot of sour cream in the UK - that tends to be an Eastern European food, so your comparisons don't gel (hah.).
I once sent my Mother in Ireland a consignment of clotted cream from Devon. She had no notion of clotted cream, and attempted to use it as if it was double cream, or so my sister reported to me. That was disastrous for the dishes involved.

In my experience clotted cream is rather softer than "room temperature butter in a cool room". The nearest substances I can think of to resemble clotted cream in texture would be hummus or tabouleh. Think very soft paté.
You would use clotted cream like butter. Spread it on a scone - sorry, a "breakfast biscuit". Let's be clear about this. The scones/breakfast biscuits should be made so as to have two or three raisins in each one. Make a horizontal slice to cut one in half, and spread the cut portions with clotted cream. Serve with tea with milk (NOT lemon) - or coffee, if you really must.

If you've ever coped with Marmite, you would have no difficulty registering a dollop of a syrupy substance. Marmite is *thick* syrup, although the scoundrels have made it thinner for easier spreading, and market it in tubes now.

Only an American would think of refrigerating clotted cream. It's mostly fat. It doesn't refrigerate well. Let it return to room temperature before you try to use it. The reason Brits don't refrigerate it much is because when you look round, it's all gone.

"Lodda jabs in Bris'l. Lodda cows in De'm. Lodda stones in Corn'll"
("There is plenty of employment in Bristol. There are a great many dairy herds in Devon. Agricultural land is not of good quality in Cornwall.")

Which opens another can of worms. Jam* or cream first?

*Jelly, I believe it's called over the pond. And strawberry is the only jam to use. There can be NO argument about that

I thought that the difference between jam and jelly was the use of seeds and pulp in jam and jelly being more like Jello.
Anyways, clotted cream sounds delicious.

The controversy still rages. (How do YOU pronounce "controversy"?)

My personal preference is for Clotted Cream first. As a Blackmouth, I prefer blackcurrant jam!

It has a rather weird stringy texture. The ferment micro-organisms are different from those used for other dairy products.

Turkish "kaymak" is the same thing.

Are there micro-organisms involved? It is not sour. I thought it is basically a form of more watery butter, but produced not with cream which is separated from full-fat milk through a centrifuge (cream-separator) but by letting the milk stand and the cream rise naturally to the top, and some gentle heating process, by which the cream clots, basically forming into small lumps of butter.

Stringy???

That's a new one on me

I may be mistaken then. I thought (seeds nad pulp or not) that it was all jeyy over there.
And yes, clotted cream is fantastic stuff and has NO calories whatsoever, especially when eaten with the full 'cream tea' whilst on holiday in Devon or Cornwall.

Blackcurrant ??!! Blackcurrant!!??

Heathen!!

...an' only creamy peanut butter

Nah. It's thicker than that. Admittedly, a lot of the modern stuff is pretty soft and runny, but it shouldn't be. For instance, if you place a heap of it on a scone, it should not change shape or collapse at all. You can spread it, of course, but it won't run of its own accord.

And I refrigerate it. Again, good thick clotted cream is fine in the fridge. Not a problem.

It does get harder and harder to get proper clotted cream, mind. Easier to find in Devon than in Cornwall these days. Most of the stuff that you'll find in Cornwall is Rodda's or the like. Doesn't even have a proper crust.

Those of us who live in Devon can have cream teas whenever we want...life is good.

Love clotted cream, but thought it was basically an exceptionally thick cream with a yellowy buttery crust which you stir in just before serving if desired so it has bumpy lumps in it which have a wonderful mouth feel.

The more you stir it, the runnier it gets. But it gets syrupy at best.

It's probably little better for you than serving you pie with a slab of butter.