Posset
Encyclopedia
Syllabub
Syllabub is a traditional English dessert, popular from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century. It is usually made from rich milk or cream seasoned with sugar and lightly curdled with wine. Mrs Beeton gives two recipes...
.
To make the drink, milk
Milk
Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...
was heated to a boil, then mixed with wine
Wine
Wine is an alcoholic beverage, made of fermented fruit juice, usually from grapes. The natural chemical balance of grapes lets them ferment without the addition of sugars, acids, enzymes, or other nutrients. Grape wine is produced by fermenting crushed grapes using various types of yeast. Yeast...
or ale
Ale
Ale is a type of beer brewed from malted barley using a warm fermentation with a strain of brewers' yeast. The yeast will ferment the beer quickly, giving it a sweet, full bodied and fruity taste...
, which curd
Curd
Curds are a dairy product obtained by curdling milk with rennet or an edible acidic substance such as lemon juice or vinegar, and then draining off the liquid portion. The increased acidity causes the milk proteins to tangle into solid masses, or curds. The remaining liquid, which contains only...
led it, and the mixture was usually spiced.
It was considered a specific remedy for some minor illnesses, such as a cold
Common cold
The common cold is a viral infectious disease of the upper respiratory system, caused primarily by rhinoviruses and coronaviruses. Common symptoms include a cough, sore throat, runny nose, and fever...
, and a general remedy for others, as even today people drink hot milk to help them get to sleep.
History
The OED traces the word to the 15th century.In 16th-century and later sources, possets are generally made from lemon or other citrus juice, cream and sugar. Eggs are often added.
In the cookery manual known as the Forme of Cury
Forme of Cury
The Forme of Cury is an extensive recipe collection of the 14th century whose author is given as "the chief Master Cooks of King Richard II". The modern name was given to it by Samuel Pegge, who published an edition of it in 1791. This name has since come into usage for almost all versions of the...
, "possynet" in the 18th century is referenced as part of a sauce made from stuffing, drippings, and meat gelatin
Gelatin
Gelatin is a translucent, colorless, brittle , flavorless solid substance, derived from the collagen inside animals' skin and bones. It is commonly used as a gelling agent in food, pharmaceuticals, photography, and cosmetic manufacturing. Substances containing gelatin or functioning in a similar...
for serving over goose. In this case, the posset might have served as a form of thickener, comparable in function to a modern white sauce of milk, butter, and flour.
"Posset sets" for mixing and serving possets were popular gifts, and valuable ones (often made of silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
) were heirlooms. Such sets contained a posset "pot," or "bowl," or "cup" to serve it in, a container for mixing it in, and usually various containers for the ingredients, as well as spoon
Spoon
A spoon is a utensil consisting of a small shallow bowl, oval or round, at the end of a handle. A type of cutlery , especially as part of a place setting, it is used primarily for serving. Spoons are also used in food preparation to measure, mix, stir and toss ingredients...
s. The posset set that the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
ambassador
Ambassador
An ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
gave Queen Mary I of England
Mary I of England
Mary I was queen regnant of England and Ireland from July 1553 until her death.She was the only surviving child born of the ill-fated marriage of Henry VIII and his first wife Catherine of Aragon. Her younger half-brother, Edward VI, succeeded Henry in 1547...
and King Philip II of Spain
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
when they became betrothed in 1554 is believed to have been made by Benvenuto Cellini
Benvenuto Cellini
Benvenuto Cellini was an Italian goldsmith, sculptor, painter, soldier and musician, who also wrote a famous autobiography. He was one of the most important artists of Mannerism.-Youth:...
and is of crystal
Crystal
A crystal or crystalline solid is a solid material whose constituent atoms, molecules, or ions are arranged in an orderly repeating pattern extending in all three spatial dimensions. The scientific study of crystals and crystal formation is known as crystallography...
, gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
, precious gem
Gemstone
A gemstone or gem is a piece of mineral, which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments...
s, and enamel
Vitreous enamel
Vitreous enamel, also porcelain enamel in U.S. English, is a material made by fusing powdered glass to a substrate by firing, usually between 750 and 850 °C...
. It is on display at Hatfield House
Hatfield House
Hatfield House is a country house set in a large park, the Great Park, on the eastern side of the town of Hatfield, Hertfordshire, England. The present Jacobean house was built in 1611 by Robert Cecil, First Earl of Salisbury and Chief Minister to King James I and has been the home of the Cecil...
in England and consists of a large, stemmed, covered bowl, two open, stemmed vessels, a covered container
Rock crystal vase
A rock crystal vase is a vase made of rock crystal, a type of hardstone carving.Some such vases were rare expensive items, decorated with gold and jewels, used by royalty in Europe....
, three spoons, and two fork
Fork
As a piece of cutlery or kitchenware, a fork is a tool consisting of a handle with several narrow tines on one end. The fork, as an eating utensil, has been a feature primarily of the West, whereas in East Asia chopsticks have been more prevalent...
s.
The word "posset" is mostly used nowadays for a cold set dessert loosely based on the drink, containing cream and lemon, similar to syllabub
Syllabub
Syllabub is a traditional English dessert, popular from the sixteenth to the nineteenth century. It is usually made from rich milk or cream seasoned with sugar and lightly curdled with wine. Mrs Beeton gives two recipes...
.
In fiction
- Lady MacbethLady MacbethLady Macbeth may refer to:*Lady Macbeth, from William Shakespeare's play Macbeth**Queen Gruoch of Scotland, the real-life Queen on whom Shakespeare based the character...
uses poisoned possets to knock out the guards outside Duncan's quarters in William ShakespeareWilliam ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
's MacbethMacbethThe Tragedy of Macbeth is a play by William Shakespeare about a regicide and its aftermath. It is Shakespeare's shortest tragedy and is believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607...
, Act II, Scene ii:
- The doors are open, and the surfeited grooms
- Do mock their charge with snores. I have drugg'd their possets
- That death and nature do contend about them,
- Whether they live or die.
- David BalfourDavid BalfourDavid Balfour may refer to:* David Balfour , Scottish-Danish shipbuilder, director of Bremerholm*David Balfour, the main character and narrator in the books Kidnapped and Catriona*An alternative title to Catriona...
the narrator in Robert Louis StevensonRobert Louis StevensonRobert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, essayist and travel writer. His best-known books include Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde....
's KidnappedKidnappedKidnapped may refer to:* the crime of kidnappingIn books:* Kidnapped , a book by Robert Louis Stevenson which has been adapted a number of times in different media*"Kidnapped" , a short story by Rudyard Kipling...
makes a reference to possets in the sense of being pampered
- "But I was by this time so weary that I could have slept twelve hours at a stretch; I had the taste of sleep in my throat; my joints slept even when my mind was waking; the hot smell of the heather, and the drone of the wild bees, were like possets to me; and every now and again I would give a jump and find I had been dozing."
- Kay HarkerKay HarkerKay Harker is a fictional character, the young hero of the books The Midnight Folk and The Box of Delights by John Masefield, and the BBC series based on The Box of Delights. The series ran in 1984, where the character was played by actor Devin Stanfield...
, of John MasefieldJohn MasefieldJohn Edward Masefield, OM, was an English poet and writer, and Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom from 1930 until his death in 1967...
's book, The Box of DelightsThe Box of DelightsThe Box of Delights is a children's fantasy novel by John Masefield. It is a sequel to The Midnight Folk, and was first published in 1935.-Plot summary :...
, takes a posset to help clear his head, on the advice of the local police Inspector. The posset is said to be a jorum of hot milk, egg, treacleTreacleTreacle is any syrup made during the refining of sugar and is defined as "uncrystallized syrup produced in refining sugar". Treacle is used chiefly in cooking as a form of sweetener or condiment....
and nutmeg.
- It is stated by the Warden in IncarceronIncarceronIncarceron is a young-adult fantasy and science fiction novel written by Catherine Fisher, first released on May 3rd, 2007. Published by Hodder Children's Books, it is the first in a line of novels centered around Finn and Claudia, two adolescents individually confined by the Warden of Incarceron...
that Claudia used to give her young, ailing tutor Jared sweetmeats and possets. This was used to illustrate how she only cares for Jared, and that the Warden was jealous of their relationship since he couldn't find a way to be closer to her as her father figure.
- In 'The Silver Chair', by C.S. Lewis, the queen of Harfang asks that one of the protagonists, Jill Pole, be given, "...all you can think of - possets and comfits and caraways and lullabies and toys."