Skyr

I love discovering new foods. It’s one of the things that keeps life interesting.

In the books I’m reading, one of the characters is from Iceland and she mentioned that the skyr she was eating tasted like mayonnaise. The word skyr sounded familiar to me and I realized I had some skyr in my refrigerator. I had thought it was just a type of yogurt.

After some research I found that skyr is not yogurt, but officially it’s a type of cheese. After the cream is removed to make skim milk, a skyr culture is added to the milk which starts to separate the curds and whey. This liquid is put into linen bags and the whey seeps out, leaving behind the creamy protein-rich skyr.

In the US market, yogurt has two warring factions. Many customers want low-fat yogurt because they equate eating fat with becoming fat. Other customers have learned that low-fat usually means high-sugar content. They would rather have high-fat yogurt with low sugar content.

Skyr is perfectly poised to satisfy both these markets. It is low on fat, low on sugar, high in protein, and has a thick, creamy texture. I expect skyr will go over big in the US as it brings harmony to the warring factions of the yogurt market.