Junket is a dish of milk curds.
It is served cold, often with stewed fruits.
It has a very delicated flavour and texture.
To make it, you heat milk to tepid, mix in rennet and let stand without stirring for at least 30 minutes.
Then, you sweeten it with sugar and flavour it with something such as brandy.
Junket is also the brand name of powdered mixes and plain rennet tablets. Some of the mixes are flavoured. They are sold in North America by Salada.
Literature & Lore
“To make a Junket: Take Ews or Goats-milk; if you have neither of these, then take Cows-milk, and put it over the fire to warm, then put in a little Runnet to it; then pour it out into a Dish, and let it cool, then strew on Cinamon and Sugar, then take some, Cream and lay upon it scraping Sugar thereon, serve it up.” — Hannah Woolley. The Gentlewomans Companion. London. 1673.
Language Notes
The English word “Junket” comes from the old French word “jonquette” and the English derivation, “Junket” was used to refer to curds as early as the 1400s.
In North America, Salada-Sherriff-Horsey is allowed to hold the name “Junket” as a registered trademark. They were using it as a brand name as far back as the 1930s.
Now, in North America though, junket is largely used as a term for trips taken by government workers and politicians.