Uunijuusto is a traditional Finnish cheese-like dish made from colostrum milk, which contains egg white that helps it coagulate. Rennet was historically forbidden in Finland, and the cheese is often served in desserts with cranberries and other fruits.
Unnijustto is a traditional Finnish baked cheese; technically not a cheese, but a close equivalent. These types of cheeses are made from colostrum, which is the first nutrient-rich milk a cow produces soon after giving birth to a calf. Colostrum milk contains a high amount of egg white, a substance that helps milk coagulate naturally to form uunijuusto cheese. Regular cheeses, on the other hand, are formed by fortifying milk with one of two rennets, an enzyme found in the inner stomach linings of young mammals or with a vegetarian microbial coagulant.
Many traditional Finnish cheeses and other dairy products are made with colostrum. The use of rennet in cheese making was considered a cruel practice and was historically forbidden in Finland; as mentioned, the rennet for the production of cheese, depending on the type of cheese, is obtained from the stomachs of unweaned calves, children and lambs. If colostrum milk is not available, it is quite possible to make unnijuusto cheeses with ordinary milk and eggs. In this case, the eggs work as a coagulant and help turn regular milk into cheese.
The best Finnish uunijuusto cheeses, however, are those made with colostrum. Fresh colostrum is preferable, but frozen colostrum can also be used to make cheese. It is not necessary to melt the colostrum first, as it can be placed directly in the oven and cooked as is. A pinch of salt is added to the milk before cooking and sugar and cinnamon may also be added for taste.
The colostrum milk is then cooked in the oven for about half an hour at a high temperature. Cooking the milk gives the uunijuusto cheese a characteristic yellowish colour. You can check the coagulation of colostrum milk in real time. For example, if the cheese is proving too hard, it can be softened by adding a little milk, while if the cheese is too soft, it can be stiffened by adding whipped egg whites.
In Finland, there are different regional ways of serving and eating uunijuusto cheeses. Typically, however, Finnish uunijuusto cheeses are included in many Finnish desserts, usually in the company of dishes prepared with cranberries, cranberries, red currants, and other fruits. Uunijuusto cheeses can be purchased in many Scandinavian restaurants and grocery stores.
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