Lemon posset

About the dish

Posset is an old English name: in the Middle Ages it was a warm, spiced milk drink curdled with an acidic liquid. The modern lemon posset, a set cream dessert, is a much later dish that took the name.

It needs only three ingredients: heavy cream, sugar and lemon juice. The cream and sugar are brought to a boil and simmered for a few minutes, which concentrates them a little. Off the heat, fresh lemon juice is stirred in, and the mixture is poured into small glasses or ramekins and chilled for several hours, during which it sets to a smooth, spoonable cream.

The acid makes the milk proteins in the cream bind together. In a high-fat cream there is so much fat and so little protein that the mixture thickens evenly instead of separating into curds, as it would in milk. That is why light cream or half-and-half will not set properly. The flavor is a clean balance of sour and sweet over deep richness, and it is often served with shortbread and fresh berries.

Written from general cooking knowledge, as background on a dish from the game’s recipe book. It is not a tested recipe.

The flavors it leans on

• Sour
• Sweet
• Rich