Skyr is the new yogurt which is being hailed as the replacement to greek yogurt. Skyr has many nutritional and health benefits over the traditional, much loved Greek yogurt. You can read the article about Skyr’s nutritional benefits here. If you already know the goodness and creaminess of skyr and wondering how you can incorporate them in to delicious desserts and recipes, here’s a lowdown on easy recipes you can make using skyr. Apart from these, siggi’s the popular brand which sources Skyr has many delicious recipes on their website you can check out.
How to make Skyr
Skyr is not widely available outside Iceland (it is sold in limited amounts in some specialty shops in the USA), which can make it hard to produce in other countries. To make skyr, you will need skyr which makes it hard to produce in other countries. There is a special bacteria culture that gives skyr its taste and texture, and the best way of getting the bacteria into a new batch is by mixing a portion of prepared skyr into it. Sour cream or buttermilk can be used as a starter instead of skyr, but the taste will be slightly different.
This recipe makes about 16-20 servings, and can easily be reduced. The skyr can be stored for 4-5 days in a closed container.
What you will need:
10 l skim milk, preferably not pasteurized
8-9 drops OR 1 1/2 tablet rennet
10 g skyr, for the bacteria starter. If not available, use 1 tbs live culture sour cream or buttermilk.
Directions:
.Heat the skim milk up to 86-90°C, and cool slowly for about 2 hours, down to 39°C.
.Stir a little scalded milk into the starter to make a thin paste and mix into the skim milk with the rennet (if you are using dry rennet, dissolve in a little water before adding).
.Close the cooking pot and wrap it in towels or a thick blanket.
.The milk should curdle over a period of about 5 hours. If it curdles in less than 4 1/2 hours, the curds will be coarse, but if it curdles in more than 5 hours, the skyr will be so thick it will be difficult to strain.
.When the milk is curdled, cut into the curd with a knife. If you can make a cut which does not close immediately, then you can proceed to the next stage.
.Line a sieve or colander with cheesecloth or a fine linen cloth and pour in the skyr.
.Tie the ends of the cloth together over the top and hang over a bucket or other container so the whey can drip.
.Your skyr-making is successful, when there is little whey, which doesn’t float over the curd, but rather will be visible along the edges of the sieve and in the cuts you made into the surface.
.You can judge the quality of the skyr from the appearance of the curd when you pour them into the sieve.
.If the skyr is good, it will crack and fall apart in pieces, but should neither be thin nor lumpy.
.Do not put a layer thicker than 7-9 cm into the sieve. Keep the sieve in a well-ventilated room, with a temperature no higher than 12° and no lower than 0° Celsius. .The skyr should be ready to eat in 12-24 hours.
The skyr will look firm and dry when it’s ready. The whey can be used as a drink, to pickle food, or as a replacement for white wine in cooking.
Problems you may encounter:
If the whey does not leak off the curds or float over the curds, or the curds do not shrink from the edges of the sieve, then something is wrong. The milk has not been heated to a high enough temperature or has been cooled too quickly, so that the rennet has not had time to work. The more milk you curdle at a time, the relatively less starter and rennet you need. A large container cools slower than a small one, and the effects of starter and rennet last longer.
About the starter:
It is best to use skyr for the starter. If the skyr is sour, it should be mixed into the milk while it is still 80°-90°C. This will remove the sourness. Don’t add the rennet until the milk has cooled to approx. 40°C. When the weather is cold, it is best to mix it in when the milk is a little over 40°C (say, 41° or 42°). In cold weather, the milk also needs to be covered more tightly while it curdles. This is especially important if you are making a small portion of skyr.
Skyr Biscuits
- Prep time: 15 min
- Cook time: 9 mins
- Total time: 24 mins
- Serves: 6
You will need:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. and 1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. coarse salt
5 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
2 tbsp. siggi’s 2% plain skyr
⅓ cups milk
Directions:
.Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
.In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
.Cut in the butter with a pastry cutter, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
.Make a well in the center of the mixture, and add the skyr and milk all at once. Mix with a fork just until the dough comes together.
.Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and squeeze together into a ball.
.Pat or roll out to a thickness of about ½-inch. Cut with a floured 2-inch biscuit cutter, and place the biscuits on an ungreased baking sheet. You may need to push the scraps back together and pat out to get more biscuits.
.Bake the biscuits for 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm.
Avocado-Coconut Skyr Mousse
You will need:
1/2 medium avocado.
1/2 cup skyr, or homemade cream cheese.
1 cup coconut milk.
1/2 cup frozen berries, cooked down into a coulis, by heating in a small saucepan for a few minutes, then allow to cool.
Coconut shavings, slightly toasted in a pan.
Directions:
.Blend avocado and three-quarters of the coconut milk with a stab-mixer.
.Then blend the rest of the coconut milk with the skyr.
.Layer the berries, skyr and avocado mousse and sprinkle with the coconut shavings.
Skyr Whipped Potatoes
Serves 10
You will need:
3 pounds Yukon gold potatoes
1 ⅓ cups skyr
1 ½ cups vegetable or chicken broth
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
3 sliced scallions (optional)
Directions:
.Peel potatoes and cut into cubes.
.Place them in a large pot and cover them with water and sprinkle generously with salt. .Bring to a boil, then lower just a bit and cook until fork tender.
.Drain the potatoes and put them back on the heat and shake the pot a little until all the water in the bottom of the pot has been absorbed. This dries the potatoes and improves the texture.
.To the pot add the skyr, 1 cup of the broth, a tsp of salt and a few grinds of pepper. .Then, using a handheld mixer, beat the potatoes until the skyr and broth have been combined and the potatoes are no longer lumpy.
.If necessary, add the rest of the broth. Taste and correct the seasonings. If you are an onion fan, fold the onions into the potatoes.
Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake with Skyr
makes 36 mini cheesecakes
For blueberry sauce:
1 cup frozen wild blueberries (I used wild blueberries because they are smaller.)
4 Tbspn sugar
juice of 1/2 lemon
1/2 tspn cornstarch, sifted
.In a non-reactive saucepan, saute the blueberries over medium high heat until they begin to release their juices.
.Add the lemon juice, sugar, and sifted cornstarch to the blueberries, making sure to whisk to combine.
.Stirring constantly, bring the contents to a boil and simmer until the blueberries have reduced and are slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.
.Remove from heat and let cool. Set aside.
For crust:
1 1/2 cups Cinnamon Graham crackers, ground (from Trader Joe’s, or substitute 50-50 graham crackers and ginger snaps)
1/4 tspn ground cinnamon
1/4 tspn freshly ground nutmeg
1/3 cup melted butter
.Line the bottom of each cheesecake mold with a round of parchment paper.
.Combine ingredients and mix thoroughly. Mixture will be crumbly but should stick together when pressed between your fingers.
.Press the crumb into your cheesecake mold, using a flat bottom to press the crumb mixture into the bottom of the pan. (I found that about 2/3 tbspn of crust was sufficient in these mini cheesecake molds, and I used the end of a small rolling pin to press the crumb down.)
.Put the pans in the freezer while making the cheesecake filling.
For cheesecake filling:
you must have all filling ingredients at room temperature.
1 lb. cream cheese
1/2 lb. blueberry Icelandic skyr (if you can’t find Icelandic skyr, ricotta cheese works well, or just substitute another pound of cream cheese)
5 eggs
1/4 cup flour
2 tspn vanilla
2 tspn lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon
16 oz. sour cream
1/2 cup blueberry sauce (or for a more intense flavor and not saving the sauce for serving, at more blueberry sauce)
.Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
.Beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy with the mixer on low throughout.
.Add the skyr and beat again.
.Gradually add the sugar and continue beating until creamy.
.Add one egg at a time, beating well after each addition.
.Add flour, vanilla, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Mix.
.Add the sour cream and beat well.
.Add the blueberry sauce and mix to until thoroughly distributed throughout the batter.
.Pour the filling into the prepared pans on top of the crumb crusts.
.Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes.
.Do not remove the pan from the oven! Turn the oven off, prop open the oven door about an inch or two, and leave for an hour.
.Remove from oven, let cool and season in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours.
For lemon curd:
1 cup sugar
6 Tbspn corn starch
1/4 tspn salt
1/2 cup cold water
1/2 cup fresh-squeezed (meyer) lemon juice
3 egg yolks
2 Tbspn butter, softened
1 1/3 cups boiling water
1 Tbspn freshly grated (meyer) lemon zest
.In a saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Gradually blend in the cold water and lemon juice.
.Add the egg yolks and butter, blending until smooth.
.Gradually add in the boiling water, stirring constantly.
.Place the saucepan over medium high heat and bring to a full boil, stirring gently with a spatula and scraping the bottom (to prevent burning). Once the mixture begins to thicken, reduce the heat and simmer for one minute.
.Remove the curd from heat and mix in the lemon zest. Cool completely.
To serve:
Once the cheesecakes have seasoned for at least 24 hours, top with dollops of lemon curd, leftover blueberry sauce, and fresh blueberries. For a bit of shine, lightly brush the blueberries with heated apricot jam.
[Read: How To Make Breakfast Smoothies For Weight Loss?]
Simple Skyr Cake
You will need:
Cookies (digestive etc) 1 paccage
80g melted butter
5dl cream
500g vanilla skyr
Berries for decorating
Directions:
.Take your digestive cookies and crush them. A good way is to take a plastic bag and put the biscuits in. Tie the bag and crush with your rolling pin.
.Melt 80 grams butter and add butter to the biscuits and mix.
.Press the biscuit-butter mixture on the bottom of a spring form cake tin. (remember to line it with wax paper)
.Whisk cream until stiff.
Take 500 grams skyr.
Mix skyr and whipped cream very carefully.
Put mixed cream and skyr on top of pressed biscuits
References
http://icecook.blogspot.in/2006/02/skyr-recipe-and-instructions.html
http://tramplingrose.com/skyr-biscuits/
http://iquitsugar.com/recipe/avocado-coconut-skyr-breakfast-mousse/
http://neighborhoodrootsmn.org/recipes/skyr-whipped-potatoes/
http://www.dessertsforbreakfast.com/2010/02/lemon-blueberry-skyr-cheesecakes-and.html
https://snapguide.com/guides/make-the-best-skyr-cake-in-the-world/
