Kate Lawson is a retired Detroit News food writer. Prepare the panna cotta in a dish and unmold on a pretty plate or simply fill a few flutes or goblets with the velvety cream and watch your guests scrape out every last delicious bite.Ī more simple, satisfying dessert you’ll never find. I know people who even add hot fudge, but that’s going too far in my estimation. Of course, any berries and most fruits would work here raspberries also make for a pretty garnish and even a drizzle of balsamic glaze lifts the dish. And now that strawberries are beginning to appear in markets and pots of basil are sending out their lovely scents to shoppers, I’ve decided that a lemon panna cotta with fresh strawberries and basil is just the ticket. With the arrival of spring and Sunday’s Easter holiday, I think panna cotta would make the ideal treat. It’s egg-free and gluten free, so it satisfies almost everyone. I think Junket Brand rennet tablets may still be available if you remember this dish and you’re willing to search.īut now that I’m all grown up, panna cotta, which is Italian for “cooked cream,” is my most favorite of the custard/pudding family, (it’s about as simple to prepare as Junket and so, so much better). I loved the vanilla flavor and sometimes my mother would garnish the dish with sliced bananas or berries, but basically, I just preferred it unadorned. I can’t explain why I loved it, but the silken texture - a little sturdier than pudding - seemed to delight my tongue. It came from a box much like Jell-O and was made with rennet, which curdles milk and causes the mixture to set. When I was young, there was a creamy dessert that my mother would make called Junket. I would readily push away a piece of cake or slice of pie for a spoonful of pudding if given the choice. Historically junkets were served in a large ceramic bowl known as a ‘basin’, often eaten with fruits such as raspberries and on the Isle of Wight an inch-thick layer of clotted cream was included too.I don’t care what you call it - custard, pudding, coeur a la creme, creme brulee, creme caramel, mousse, tapioca or flan - these creamy, luscious, silken sweets are among my all-time favorite desserts. Less in keeping with tradition, rum also makes a tasty alternative for the flavouring. In its simplest form, creating a junket involves mixing rich, whole milk with a flavouring such as rose water or brandy, then setting the mixture with rennet and chilling. Similarly, another author, remembering it from their childhood in Freshwater, would later pen the line: “no one in the world has tasted junket as these island people make it”.Īlthough the making of junket has died out on the Isle of Wight, it can be recreated today by using existing West Country recipes and historic descriptions of the Island variety. Travel writer George Mogridge praised the dessert, also known as ‘curds and whey’, when he tried it at a thatched cottage at Binstead in the 1840s. This ancient milk-based dessert, similar to a panna cotta, is said to take its name from the French word ‘jonquette’ and has existed in Britain since at least the medieval period, remaining strongly associated with the West Country today. However, it wasn’t just butter and cream that Islanders made from their milk but desserts too – including one that the Isle of Wight appears to have become renowned for: junket. When the American author of The Last of the Mohicans – James Fenimore Cooper – landed at Cowes in the 1820s, he was already well aware that the Island was celebrated for the quality of its butter, although being used to added salt back in the States, it took him a while to get used to it. The result was a much richer milk and butter than those made from ‘the English cow’, creating a reputation that didn’t only spread locally but internationally too. A combination of lush grazing and carefully bred cattle combined to create some of the finest milk in the country – with farmers using the best Devon, Alderney and Guernsey cows to continually improve their herds.
During the 19th century, the Isle of Wight was famed for its rich and creamy dairy products.
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