Icelandic or Greek? Yoghurt or cheese?

"Though skyr is often compared to yogurt, it is actually a fresh cultured cheese."

In Woolworths the other day I noticed yet another new product in the yoghurt section. There were two brands - Woolworths and Nudie (shown above) and it was labelled Icelandic yoghurt by Nudie and Skyr by Woolworths. Which is interesting in itself. I gather that overseas there have been legal arguments about whether one can use the term skyr or not - it's that old argument about foods that are unique to a particular area.

Anyway it looks like Woolworths are taking the risk and Nudie are not, though they are hedging their bets a little by calling it Icelandic style skyr. Also when I looked in Coles today I found that there was no skyr. So this must be a new thing and not just me being unobservant, for Coles does stock Nudie products - just not this one.

So I had to look into it. And yes it is becoming big in America where it seems to be manufactured by a few companies. So no doubt we shall be following suit in a while.

So why should you go for Skyr. Well Greek yoghurt has been the thing in recent years - mostly, I think because it is thicker than normal yoghurt. It probably has different cultures too (more about that in a moment). But you can always make your own yoghurt and then strain it to remove some of the liquid whey. Strain it enough and you end up with labneh. Do you remember the first yoghurts back in the 50s and 60s?

They were a bit watery weren't they? And indeed some yoghurts still are.

Skyr it seems is thicker still.

I saw one post that said that this was because it was strained more, but others say it's down to the culture. I think it must be the culture.

And here is where the real difference, and the argument lies. The Vikings were the first to make skyr over a thousand years ago. They took it to Iceland, lost it in Norway, but it continued in Iceland over the centuries. The skyr that is made there is claimed to be made from the original culture as it were. It's a national thing. Well I assume they make it the same way as you make your own yoghurt. Add a bit of your old yoghurt to some warmed milk and leave it to ferment. So yes, like sourdough you are using the same culture as was first used a thousand years ago. I have no idea whether the Americans, or anyone else for that matter have purchased a bit of the original culture from the Icelanders or whether they have concocted their own. I assume the latter, which is why there is a battle over nomenclature.

I gather that skyr is also traditionally made from skimmed milk, not full fat milk like traditional Greek yoghurt, but the lines are blurred on that these days.

But yes, the culture does matter for skyr is not only a different texture but it also has a different taste - less sour, creamier and sweeter.

"Depending on the cultures you use, you might end up with quark, Vietnamese yogurt, Bulgarian yogurt, lebneh or any other number of cultured dairy products with different textures, depths and flavor notes." John Heath

And lots of the articles I found said that technically it is more of a cheese than a yoghurt. Indeed Euromonitor International, a global market research company lists skyr with fromage frais. Now if that's true this is absolutely great because you just can't get fromage frais here and every now and then I come across a recipe that needs it. And yes, that is sweeter and more usually used for desserts than breakfast or main dishes, which is apparently what the Icelanders do.

"When it is eaten at home in Iceland, skyr is consumed after lunch as a treat, layered with a lavish splash of cream or milk, a sprinkling of berries or other Nordic fruits, and brown sugar, rather than accompanied by granola." My Recipes.com

And yes I did read elsewhere that it is mostly consumed with milk to water it down as it were. Which is odd if you spent all that time and effort straining off the whey to make it thicker. And Nudie have tried to use some nordic fruits in their varieties.

Interesting that Woolworths itself should be one of the few brands to be pushing it. Interesting also, if you believe the claim from Nudie, that they were the first people to use chia seeds in their products and here they are being one of the first to make skyr. It will be interesting to see if it takes off. Should do a post on Nudie some time.