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Posset
Boil a cup of milk and stir in one tablespoon of molasses. Let boil up well, strain and serve.
A two-ingredient sickroom drink from the invalid chapter, and one of the few historical possets with no alcohol in it. The whole point is the curd: the acidity of the molasses separates the hot milk, and straining removes the solids to leave a thin, sweet whey.
- QuantitiesOne cup of milk with one tablespoon of molasses gives a single small serving. Whole milk behaves best; skim gives a watery result.
- Molasses, not blackstrapHousehold molasses of the period was generally a lighter, sweeter grade than blackstrap. Blackstrap is far more bitter and mineral and will overwhelm the cup; use a light or medium unsulphured molasses.
- The straining is the recipeThe straining -- The recipe calls for straining before serving; pour the boiled milk through a fine sieve or a scald-clean square of muslin to catch any skin or flecks. Skipping this step leaves you with sweet lumpy milk.
- Watch the panMilk with sugar in it scorches quickly and the burnt taste cannot be strained out. Use a heavy pan, medium heat, and stir until it rises.
- Serve at oncePosset was drunk hot, from a cup or a spouted invalid feeder. It thickens and separates further as it stands and does not reheat well.
A posset was originally hot milk curdled with ale, wine or sack, sweetened and often spiced, and it served as both a nightcap and a household remedy from the medieval period onward; the special two-handled, spouted posset pot survives in English pottery collections. By the late nineteenth century the drink is often said to have largely split in two: the rich cream-and-wine version became a dessert, while cookbooks kept a stripped-down invalid form like this one for the sickroom. Placing it under "Invalid Cookery" reflects the standard nursing thinking of the day, that a patient too weak for solid food should be given warm, sweetened, easily swallowed liquids at intervals. Molasses supplied the sweetness here, and it was cheap and in every pantry.