The villi can be served with powdered ginger.
Viili, also called curd, is a traditional cultured milk from Finland, although it originates from Sweden. Similar to yogurt, it is created through the activity of lactic acid bacteria, fungi, and yeast in milk. The dish is characterized by the viilian heteropolysaccharide, a carbohydrate gel, produced by the lactic acid bacteria strain Lactococcus lactis subsp. Cremoris.
Whole milk used to make traditional viili.
In Finland, viili is usually eaten for breakfast or as a snack. It is served cold and is usually sweetened with fruit, jam, sugar or honey. It is thick and gelatinous in texture, and its flavor is slightly acidic. If shaken, it becomes rope-like and hard to eat. It can also be served with a variety of other toppings such as muesli, cinnamon, walnuts, and ginger powder. A traditional Finnish dressing is talkkuna flour, a mixture of semi-cooked, dried, and sometimes roasted grains turned into flour.
You can make your own viili at home with a starter kit or with fresh viili. Once you’ve batched a starter kit, you’ll have your own new viili to use in future batches. The GEM Cultures company sells Finnish viili culture in the United States. Its cultivation requires the user to place the culture in a clean container, add pasteurized milk and let it sit for about 24 hours at room temperature, until it solidifies. It forms a thin velvety layer on top, caused by the fungus Geotrichum candidum. To keep a culture active, you should make a new batch at least every ten days.
It is important to make viili using only pasteurized milk, as the bacteria in raw milk can dangerously interact with the bacteria and fungi in the viili culture. However, you can use any type of pasteurized milk you like. The use of non-homogenized milk will cause a layer of cream to form on the product. While whole milk is the most traditional base for viili, you can also make a low-fat or fat-free version, or even a dairy-free soy version. Soy milk is not ideal for use with a starter kit, so if you want to make soy viili on a regular basis, it’s best to keep a dairy starter on hand.
Other Scandinavian cultures have traditional culture dairy products very similar to viili, such as Swedish langfil and filmjolk, Norwegian tettemelk, and Icelandic skyr. A variation of viili is kermaviili, which is curdled cream 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 sauces.