Viili (Finnish) is a mesophilic

fermented milk product Fermented milk products or fermented dairy products, also known as cultured dairy foods, cultured dairy products, or cultured milk products, are dairy foods that have been fermented with lactic acid bacteria such as ''Lactobacillus'', '' Lactococ ...

found in the Nordic countries, particularly

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. Viili is similar to

yoghurt Yogurt (; , from tr, yoğurt, also spelled yoghurt, yogourt or yoghourt) is a food produced by bacterial fermentation of milk. The bacteria used to make yogurt are known as ''yogurt cultures''. Fermentation of sugars in the milk by these bact ...

kefir Kefir ( ; also spelled as kephir or kefier; ; ; ) is a fermented milk drink similar to a thin yogurt or ayran that is made from kefir grains, a specific type of mesophilic symbiotic culture. The drink originated in the North Caucasus, in p ...

, but when left unmixed, its texture is malleable, or "long". The metabolism of the bacteria used in the fermentation also gives viili a slightly different taste. This cultured

milk Milk is a white liquid food produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals (including breastfed human infants) before they are able to digest solid food. Immune factors and immune-modula ...

snack resembles yoghurt and is the result of microbial action of

lactic acid bacteria Lactobacillales are an order of gram-positive, low-GC, acid-tolerant, generally nonsporulating, nonrespiring, either rod-shaped ( bacilli) or spherical ( cocci) bacteria that share common metabolic and physiological characteristics. These bact ...

(LAB) and a surface-growing

yeast Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constit ...

-like fungus ''

Geotrichum candidum ''Geotrichum candidum'' is a fungus which is a member of the human microbiome, notably associated with skin, sputum, and faeces where it occurs in 25–30% of specimens. It is common in soil and has been isolated from soil collected around the w ...

'' present in milk, which forms a velvet-like surface on viili. In addition, most traditional viili cultures also contain

strains such as ''Kluveromyces marxianus'' and ''Pichia fermentans''. The lactic acid bacteria identified in viili include the acid‐producing ''

Lactococcus lactis ''Lactococcus lactis'' is a Gram-positive bacterium used extensively in the production of buttermilk and cheese, but has also become famous as the first genetically modified organism to be used alive for the treatment of human disease. ''L. lact ...

'' subsp. ''lactis'' and ''L. l. cremoris'' as well as the aroma producers ''L. lactis'' subsp. ''lactis'' biovar ''diacetylactis'' and ''

Leuconostoc mesenteroides ''Leuconostoc mesenteroides'' is a species of lactic acid bacteria associated with fermentation, under conditions of salinity and low temperatures (such as lactic acid production in fermented sausages). In some cases of vegetable and food storage ...

''. Among those mesophilic LAB strains, the slime-forming ''Lc. lactis'' subsp. ''cremoris'' produce a phosphate-containing

heteropolysaccharide Polysaccharides (), or polycarbohydrates, are the most abundant carbohydrates found in food. They are long chain polymeric carbohydrates composed of monosaccharide units bound together by glycosidic linkages. This carbohydrate can react with ...

, named viilian. Viilian is similar to kefiran produced by kefir grains. The production of exopolysaccharides (EPS) by the strain forms the consistency character of viili and it has been claimed to have various functional benefits toward the rheological properties of milk products and the health improving potential. In modern practice, pasteurized milk is used, fermentation is carried out in a dairy plant in controlled conditions using laboratory-grown cultures and the product sold fresh. Viili is widely available in Finland in grocery stores in several variants.

Other variants

Several variants of fermented milk products are found in Western Finland and Sweden, such as

filmjölk (), also known as , is a traditional fermented milk product from Sweden, and a common dairy product within the Nordic countries. It is made by fermenting cow's milk with a variety of bacteria from the species ''Lactococcus lactis'' and ''Leucono ...

("viili milk") or långfil ("long viili"), which vary in consistency and fermentation. In Norway, filmjölk is usually named "kulturmelk" ("cultured milk") or "surmelk" ("sour milk"), while in Gotland and Iceland, the name "skyr" is used to refer to fermented yoghurt variants. Cream viili (Finnish: ''kermaviili'') is made from cream instead of milk, and is used in cooking like

sour cream Sour cream (in North American English, Australian English and New Zealand English) or soured cream (British English) is a dairy product obtained by fermenting regular cream with certain kinds of lactic acid bacteria. The bacterial culture, ...

, or with

dill Dill (''Anethum graveolens'') is an annual herb in the celery family Apiaceae. It is the only species in the genus ''Anethum''. Dill is grown widely in Eurasia, where its leaves and seeds are used as a herb or spice for flavouring food. Growth ...

chives Chives, scientific name ''Allium schoenoprasum'', is a species of flowering plant in the family Amaryllidaceae that produces edible leaves and flowers. Their close relatives include the common onions, garlic, shallot, leek, scallion, and ...

and other spices as cold sauce for fish, or as a base for dip sauces.

References

*Leporanta, K. 2003. ''Viili and Långfil – exotic fermented products from Scandinavia.'' Valio Foods & Functionals. On line version *Mistry, V. V. 2004. ''Fermented liquid milk products. In: Handbook of food and beverage fermentation technology.'' (Ed. Y. H. Hui, L. Meunier-Goddik, Å. S. Hansen, J. Josephsen, W. Nip, P. S. Stanfield and F. Toldrá) Marcel Dekker, Inc. New York, U.S.A. *Ruas-Madiedo, P., M. Gueimonde, C. G. De los Reyes-Gavilán and S. Salminen. 2006. ''Short communication: Effect of exopolysaccharide isolated from “viili” on the adhesion of probiotics and pathogens to intestinal mucus.'' J. Dairy Sci. 89:2355-2358. *Shurtleff, W. and A. Aoyagi. 2004. ''History of Fermented Soymilk and Its products: History of Soybeans and Soyfoods: 1100 B.C. to the 1980s.'' Soyfoods Center, Lafayette, California.

External links

{{Yogurts Fermented dairy products Finnish cuisine Non-Newtonian fluids de:Dickmilch sv:Fil (mjölkprodukt)