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Viili is a traditional Finnish dairy product made from milk and lactic acid bacteria, fungi, and yeasts. It is served cold and sweetened with fruit, jam, sugar, or honey. Viili can be made at home using a starter kit or new viili and pasteurized milk. Other Scandinavian cultures have similar dairy products, such as Swedish langfil and Icelandic Skyr.
Viili, also called curdled milk, is a traditional Finnish dairy product, although it originated in Sweden. Similar to yogurt, it is created through the activity of lactic acid bacteria, fungi and yeasts in milk. The dish features viilian heteropolysaccharide, a carbohydrate gel, produced by the lactic acid bacterial strain Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris.
In Finland, viili is usually eaten for breakfast or as an afternoon snack. It is served cold and often sweetened with fruit, jam, sugar or honey. It has a thick, gelatinous consistency and its taste is slightly acidic. When mixed, it becomes rope-like and hard to eat. It can also be served with a variety of other toppings, such as granola, cinnamon, nuts, and ginger powder. A traditional Finnish condiment is talkkuna flour, a mixture of cooked, dried and sometimes roasted seeds ground into a serving flour.
You can make your own viili at home with a starter kit or with a new viili. Once you’ve created a batch with a starter kit, you’ll have your new viili to use for future batches. The GEM Cultures company sells Finnish viili culture in the United States. Culture of them requires the user to place the culture in a clean bowl, add pasteurized milk, and let sit for approximately 24 hours at room temperature, until set. Forms a thin, velvety layer on top caused by Geotrichum candidum mold. To keep a culture active, a new batch must be created at least every ten days.
It is important to produce viili using only pasteurized milk, as the bacteria in raw milk can interact dangerously with bacteria and fungi in the viili culture. However, you can use any type of pasteurized milk you like. The use of non-homogenized milk causes a layer of cream to form on top of the product. While whole milk is the more traditional base for viili, you can also make a low-fat or fat-free version, or even a dairy-free soy version. Soy milk isn’t ideal for use with a starter kit, however, so if you want to make soy on a regular basis, it’s best to keep a dairy starter on hand.
Other Scandinavian cultures have traditional dairy products that are very similar to viili, such as Swedish langfil and filmjolk, Norwegian Tettemelk, and Icelandic Skyr. A variant of viili is kermaviili, which is cremated with starter bacteria. Kermaviili is smoother, creamier and more acidic. It is similar to low-fat sour cream and can be used in sauces, dressings and dips.
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