Parmesan from Finland. Cheese from Finland: types, names of the best brands. Finnish dairy products
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Leipäjuusto is the most popular dessert in Lapland, the calling card of Lapland chefs. It is eaten warm or cold, usually with cloudberry jam. Lapland cheese has a soft texture and a delicate sweetish taste, while it creaks slightly on the teeth, creating a “rubbery” feeling, for which it received the name Finnish squeaky cheese in English.
Translated from Finnish, Leipäjuusto means “bread cheese” (sometimes called Juustoleipä - cheese bread). The cheese received this name because it is cooked in an oven, almost like bread.
The process of making cheese is traditional: cow's milk is heated, then rennet is added, which causes the protein mass to separate from the whey. The resulting cheese mass is collected into a ball and rolled into a flat cake. The cheese is baked in the oven, grilled or flambéed, causing fat to rise to the surface of the flatbread, forming a natural protective golden layer, similar in appearance to a bread crust. In Lapland, this cheese is still prepared with the addition of reindeer milk, which is not uncommon in these regions.
Previously, cheese was made in spring and autumn, when there was a lot of milk. Cheese was considered a delicacy; it was even used to pay workers instead of money, for example, during haymaking.
Nowadays Leipäjuusto is eaten fresh, but previously the cheese was dried and stored, for example, in a bin along with grain. There it could be stored for years. Before use, dried stale cheese was heated in a frying pan or simply over coals. Pieces of cheese were also added to various soups.
There are several options for serving Leipäjuusto
Photo: @janinassu
sliced cheese served with cloudberry jam, jelly or fresh cloudberries.
The cheese cake is cut into pieces and hot coffee is poured on top. In Sweden this dish is called kaffeost (“coffee cheese”). Cheese is eaten with a spoon straight from the coffee.
The cheese is placed in a bowl, cream is poured on top so that the pieces are a little soaked, sprinkled with a little sugar and cinnamon and put into the oven for a while. Served with cloudberry jam.
Lapland cheese heated in cream and sprinkled with sugar can be served with fruit or berry salad.
The cheese can be cut into a salad cold, or it can be placed on top of the salad, pre-heated in a frying pan or grill.
In Finnish stores, cheese is sold in the form of large and miniature flatbreads, as well as in pieces. There is always a choice in Prisma, K-Citymarket or Lidl stores, and there are also discounts and promotions. A two-hundred-gram package of cheese will cost just over two euros.
Leipäjuusto is a national product and the real pride of Finland.
If you want to bring back an edible souvenir from Finland, the Lapland cheese Leipäjuusto, along with Fazer chocolate and cloudberry liqueur, are a great choice!
Finnish cheese or simply cheese from Finland is a fairly popular product for which many go to Finnish stores. Cheese in general is a rather expensive product. In Finland, cheese is also not cheap, although in some places you can buy good cheese for 6 Euros per kg.
Naturally, the price of food, including cheese, depends on the size of the store. It is usually easier to buy good, inexpensive cheese in large Finnish supermarkets. You will find a good cheese section in the Finnish Prizma. However, there are not many cheeses in Prisma, prices are average, and discounts are rare. The same can be said about the Citymarket store, where there is also a large department with cheeses, but the prices are often high. If you want to buy simple, high-quality, inexpensive cheese, we recommend that you go to the Lidl store.
We have already told you about this store. The assortment of the Lidl store changes periodically, but this mostly concerns household goods and clothing. In Lidl's grocery department, everything is pretty constant. In Lidl you will find cheeses for every taste: from goat cheese to mozzarella and the usual standard Finnish Oltermanni cheese. The choice of cheese producers in Lidl is limited, but you will be pleased with the prices. It is impossible to describe all the cheeses from Lidl in one article, but below you can see what you can buy here
Oltermanni cheese in the Finnish Lidl store. Price 5.85 Euro per kg.
Oltermanni is probably one of the most classic Finnish cheeses. This is a Valio product. Oltermanni cheese is an ordinary cheese with holes, like our Russian one. This cheese is suitable both for spaghetti and on a sandwich. As you can see, it is quite cheap - a little less than 6 Euros per kg. This cheese should be compared to both in price and quality - tasty and inexpensive.
Processed cheese in the Finnish Lidl store. Price 7 Euro per kg.
Processed cheese is not as versatile and tasty as Oltermanni, but it’s quick to make sandwiches from it.
Shelf with cheeses in the Finnish Lidl store
The selection of cheeses at Lidl is not that large, but it is inexpensive.
Discounts on cheeses (hard, expensive varieties) in the Finnish Lidl store
There are often discounts on cheeses in Finland. Typically, cheeses, unlike other products, do not spoil immediately after
Lapland cheese- This is fresh cheese made from cow's milk. This cheese is produced in Finland.
In Finnish this type of cheese is called: Leipajuusto, which translated means “bread cheese.” Sometimes it is also called juustoleipa, "cheese bread".
Lapland cheese is soft, delicate and sweetish in taste. The cheese squeaks on the teeth, which is why it received the nickname “Finnish squeaky cheese”.
In stores in Finland Lapland cheese, despite its northern name, is sold in all regions of the country. Cheese can be found in the cheese department, vacuum-packed, in the form of large and small portioned flatbreads.
Recipe for Lapland cheese:
For 2 servings you will need:1) 200 grams of Lapland cheese
2) 100 ml cream
3) Cloudberry jam or jam
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Place the cheese from the vacuum packaging into a glass baking dish. Pour cream over cheese. The mold should not be much larger than the cheese in order to cover the cheese entirely, or at least half, with cream.
Place the pan with cheese in the oven for 10-15 minutes.
Remove the cheese from the oven and the dish is ready. You can put it on a plate and serve with cloudberry jam or jam. There should not be a lot of jam so as not to interrupt the taste and aroma of the cheese.
You can find many options in shops in Finland cloudberry jam. Usually it is called in Finnish Lakkahillo.
Other ways to eat Lapland cheese:
This cheese can be eaten warm or cold.Cut the cold cheese into pieces and serve with fresh cloudberries or jam.
The cheese can be poured over hot coffee and eaten with a coffee spoon.
In Finland, this diced cheese is often added to salads instead of feta cheese.
Place the diced cheese in a bowl, pour a little cream on top, sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon, and place in a preheated oven for 10 minutes. Serve, again, with cloudberry jam.
In Lapland it is called bread cheese. This name combines two of my passions - bread and cheese. Therefore, I could not pass by and not cook it. I met this unusual cheese in Finland, thought “funny” and forgot about it. And I remembered about him only a few years later.
It's hard to find in Moscow. And yet I recently came across it in a chain store. In St. Petersburg, I’m sure it’s more common. In Finnish this cheese sounds like juustoleipa (juusto - cheese, leipa - bread), so you can also call it cheese bread. And in appearance it very much resembles a bread cake.
It is also called "squeaky". Because it creaks on the teeth. It differs from other fellow cheeses in that it is not boiled, but baked like a casserole. Eat chilled as a snack with cloudberry jam and coffee or topped with cream.
Why does cheese squeak?
In fact, its texture is very similar to Cypriot halloumi: it also creaks and is most often eaten fried.
The question arises: how is this creaking achieved? Any special ingredient or cooking technique?
I came across several recipes that contained starch, sugar and something else, I don’t remember anymore. And due to my inexperience, if I had decided to cook it then, I would have decided that this was the correct recipe. But not now. Having prepared a number of cheeses with my own hands, I still think that this is unnecessary in the cheese recipe and I believe that such recipes appeared to give “pseudo-squeakyness” to cheese from store-bought milk. In fact, the squeakiness of the cheese comes from certain ingredients in the milk itself! The secret is casein! Remember how we once discussed the problem of “store-bought” pasteurized milk? All milk in Russia is subject to mandatory pasteurization, but pasteurization conditions at different enterprises are different, so some milk can be stored for only 5 days, while others can be stored for 10 or more. And if almost any milk is suitable for yogurt, then with cheese the situation is somewhat different. The rougher the pasteurization, the worse it is for the milk protein casein. Now I am “testing” several more “store” brands with a stated shelf life of 5 days, but for now... I’ll tell you about my find, which you can definitely use to make the “correct” cheese.
Recently, one of my good friends wrote to me and told me that he had been ordering farm products from the Tver region at the Green Meadows store for a long time. I saw that they have quite an adequate volume for free delivery, plus they can deliver at a strictly defined time - you don’t have to wait all day, and I decided to try it! Milk, sour cream, butter and heavy cream - this is a list of products by which you can immediately determine what it is, because the taste of farm milk is very different from the “store-bought” milk. Milk from the village of Boncharovo has a rich taste, slightly sweet. This is very good for cheese. Well, 40% heavy cream is simply an unrealistic find for ice cream! The taste of cream is very strongly reflected in the ice cream, since it is its main ingredient.
They also have very good goat's milk, which makes an amazing soft herbed goat cheese. Stable cheese grain and the purest whey after decanting are one of the best results I've ever tried. By the way, for soft goat cheese, in principle, the milk that is sold in a regular chain store is also suitable (the main thing is not to forget to look at the label, it is important that it is pasteurized whole milk, not sterilized), although the difference, of course, is still felt ! The requirements for goat milk for fresh cheese are lower. But for semi-hard and hard cheeses - it’s also worth taking note!
Recipes for various cheeses - from the simplest, which do not require special ingredients, to complex ones - can be found under the "cheese" tag. So if you are lazy about making cheese yourself, this store also has excellent cheeses. I ordered cow kachotta and mixed milk kachotta.
For a small cheese you will need
2 liters of unpasteurized or pasteurized farm milk
1/8 tsp liquid rennin diluted in 25 ml filtered water
1/8 tsp calcium chloride diluted in 25 ml filtered water (for pasteurized, added to improve the formation of the cheese grain)
salt
A saucepan, a thermometer, a sieve, a slotted spoon, measuring spoons (it’s easier to measure)...
1. Heat the milk in a saucepan to 32-34 degrees, remove from the stove, add calcium chloride and stir for 30-40 seconds. Then add rennin and mix again with smooth movements for a minute. Leave covered for 30-50 minutes to form a clot.
2. Cut the finished clot (the texture should be like yogurt) by making a mesh and cutting with a knife to the very bottom. Then run the knife parallel to the bottom, cutting the whole mixture in half.
3. Return the pan to the stove and continue heating over low heat, stirring occasionally, to 40-45 degrees. Then remove from the stove and leave for another 20 minutes. During this time, the cheese grain will ripen and separate from the whey. Transfer the grain to a sieve and let drain. You can use a slotted spoon to speed up the process by applying periodic pressure. As soon as a homogeneous flat cake is formed, with a minimum amount of whey, you can bake. (I usually give the halloumi some time so that the whey drains out as much as possible). Don't forget to add salt!
4. Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Transfer the cheesecake to an ovenproof dish and bake for 15 minutes on each side. After turning, drain off the whey formed during baking.
5. Cool the finished cheese.
Lapland squeaky cheese is ready! And it tastes like a real Finnish winter!
It is served with cloudberry jam, but it is no less tasty with lingonberry, orange, apricot jam and honey! They say that Finns like to dip it in coffee or pour cream over it.
What Russian doesn't like shopping in Finland? Russian tourists buy not only delicacies, but also products for every day. The price-quality ratio of Finnish products is beyond praise, and the range is wide. There are things in our product line that we either don’t sell at all or are extremely rare.
We read the names on Finnish packages. Photo: rd.com
But, without knowing the Finnish language, it is sometimes difficult to figure out what kind of product we are holding in our hands. Inscriptions in Russian on Finnish packaging are extremely rare - mainly in Finnish, Swedish and Norwegian. As a result, we make some purchases at random: instead of cream we take kefir, and the purchased milk suddenly turns out to have a “completely wrong” taste. Our article will help you understand the confusing terms on labels and decide what you really need.
Dairy
Milk
For most people, milk and dairy products are an integral part of the diet. What should you pay attention to when choosing them in stores in Finland?
First, we look on the shelves for packages with the inscription “Maito” - this is what milk is called in Finnish. Each manufacturer's product, of course, has its own design, but there are some general rules. For example, the fat content of milk can be determined by the color of the pack. If in addition to white, blue color is actively used in the design, it means that it is skim milk (up to 0.1% fat content), in Finnish - “rasvaton maito”. By the blue color of the packaging we determine light milk (kevyt maito) with a fat content of 1-1.5%. And the red packs contain milk with a fat content of about 3.5%. The mark “täys maito” on full-fat milk indicates that it is whole milk. Unlike homogenized milk, whole milk is heterogeneous - the fats in it flake off and collect on the surface in the form of cream.
Noteworthy are the dark blue packaging with images of stars, a crescent moon and the inscription “yömaito” - this is night milk. It contains the hormone melatonin in high concentrations, which has a powerful sedative effect and makes it easier to fall asleep. To obtain such milk, cows are milked at night or early in the morning in a darkened room.
Those who are lactose intolerant (the natural sugar found in milk) should look for products labeled “laktoositon” (lactose-free) or “hylä” (reduced lactose). In Russia, the choice of such products is extremely scarce, since they are not produced here - they are all imported products. Most fermented milk products are also produced in Finland without lactose: yogurt, cheese, sour cream, cottage cheese, kefir, cream. Can they be consumed by those whose body breaks down lactose normally? Of course you can - don't worry! However, the change in composition due to the absence of milk sugar transfers lactose-free milk into the category of milk drinks - “maito juoma”.
Among the packages of dairy products you can also see “soija juoma” - soy drinks, which are often purchased by vegetarians. They resemble milk, although they are made from soybeans.
To designate natural products, and this applies not only to milk, the Finns use the term “luomu”, which indicates environmental friendliness, the absence of chemical additives and GMOs. Of course, the price tag for such products is higher, but some, in particular many Finns, opt for them.
Kefir
Kefir is called "piimä" in Finnish. Terminology regarding milk applies to it and other fermented milk products. Thus, low-fat kefir is rasvaton piimä, lactose-free kefir is laktoositon piimä, natural kefir is luomu piimä. As in Russia, it can be of different fat content, which is indicated on the packaging. And if you want to buy kefir with bifidobacteria, look for packs with large letters AB.
A popular product among the Finns is “viili” - practically familiar curdled milk, but with a more viscous consistency. Viili is usually produced in small round boxes of 200-250 ml, with a soft foil lid. Like milk, color differentiation is used here depending on fat content. Both kefir and yogurt may not contain flavoring additives or have a fruit and berry taste.
Yoghurts
When buying yoghurts (Jogurtti), as a rule, there are no difficulties, although their choice is simply huge. The content of fruits or cereals can be judged by the telling picture on the packaging. If you see the word “maustamaton”, it means there are no flavoring additives in the product, “lisäaineeton” indicates the absence of preservatives, “täyteläinen” means non-homogenized yogurt, and the mark “A+” indicates the presence of beneficial acidophilus bacteria. There are also soy yogurts, so remember the inscription “soya”. In addition to the usual options for packaging with sweet dessert yoghurt, which we regularly see on the shelves of Russian stores, yoghurt is also sold in plastic buckets in Finland. Pay attention to the unsweetened thick Turkish yogurt (turkkilainen jogurtti), reminiscent of sour cream. It is also used for dressing salads and for preparing sauces for meat or fish dishes.
Cream and sour cream
Cream in Finnish is “kerma”. By the inscription on the packaging you can determine not only their fat content, but also their purpose. For example, “kahvikerma” is added to coffee. “Ruokakerma” – cream for cooking. They are designed to be heated and come with various flavors (cheese, onion, etc.). “Vispikerma” is whipping cream, it can also contain flavoring additives (strawberry, chocolate, vanilla).
- Kermaviili – low-fat sour cream
- Kevytviili – low-fat yogurt
With sour cream everything is not so simple. The fact is that sour cream, which differs in fat content, has different names. The lightest sour cream – only 3.5% fat – is called “kevyt kermaviili”. Low-fat sour cream (10% fat) – “kermaviili” (do not confuse it with low-fat yogurt “kevytviili”). Medium fat content (28%) – “creme fraiche” – French sour cream. Its “light” version (12%) is “kevyt creme fraiche”. But you can easily identify the fattest sour cream (30-42%) because it says “smetana” on the box. The same product is designated by the term “ranskan kerma” - Russian sour cream.
Cottage cheese and cheese
Choosing the right cottage cheese can also be confusing. “Raejuusto” is a granular cottage cheese (“rae” means “granule” in Finnish). “Maitorahka” has a consistency similar to thick sour cream; it can be consumed in its pure form or used for baking and salads. And “rahka” is curd cream with all kinds of flavorings.
As for cheeses (Finnish: juusto), a separate article can be devoted to their diversity. They can be hard, semi-hard, smoked, melted, crumbly, and so on. You probably know well the semi-hard Finnish cheese Oltermanni, the number of varieties of which is, of course, impressive.
We definitely recommend trying “Leipäjuusto” – bread cheese. It is sold in vacuum plastic packaging in the form of large round cakes (or already cut into pieces) 1-2 cm thick and resembling an omelette. The packaging usually shows cloudberries. The name is due to the fact that this cheese is not aged, but, like bread, is cooked in the oven. Leipäjuusto is considered the signature dessert of Lapland and is recommended to be heated and enjoyed with cloudberry jam (that's why there are cloudberries on the package!). As experience shows, it’s okay if you don’t have just such jam on hand – it’s also very tasty with any other jam! Bread cheese can be added to salads or eaten on its own.
Traditionally, curd cheeses with various additives (for example, Creme Bonjour and Viola), which are spread on bread, are popular. They are easily recognizable and do not require additional explanation.
Finnish butter – salty and not very
But buying Finnish butter (Finnish voi) can be a surprise. The fact is that, unlike our stores, in Finland most of the butter is salted. Like the fat content of milk, the degree of saltiness of the butter can be determined by the color of the packaging. Blue – lightly salted butter, blue – medium salinity, red – highly salted. The usual unsalted butter, of course, is also there - it can be identified by the inscription “Suolaamaton”, made in green or on a green background. Although Russian tourists sometimes get scared when they see the word “suolaa” (Finnish “salt”), thinking that this butter is definitely salted.
There is also a fear of mixing up butter and margarine. Butter is almost always sold in sticks in paper packages, soft margarine in plastic boxes. True, hard margarine for baking is also available in paper wrapper, but it is easy to recognize by the word “Margariini” and a picture of baked goods.
Material on the topic
Finnish dairy products
Milk and fermented milk products in Finland are in great demand among the local population, which is apparently why their range is so wide and varied. Many Russians also like these products; they willingly buy them and bring them with them to Russia.Vegetable oil
Vegetable oil bottles (öljy) are easy to recognize. We identify sunflower oil by the inscription “auringonkukkaöljy” (in Finnish “aurinko” - sun, “kukka” - flower). Unlike Russia, in Finland rapeseed oil (rypsioljy) is more often used for frying and deep-frying, and its choice is significantly wider than sunflower oil. And for dressing salads, it is best, of course, to use olive oil (oliiviöljy). The term “kylmäpuristettu” indicates the cold pressing method. And the presence of flavoring additives can be easily determined by the picture on the label (lemon, basil, garlic, porcini mushrooms, chili pepper and others). Also, in Finnish stores you can find other vegetable oils: walnut (saksanpähkinäöljy), sesame (seesamiöljy), coconut (cocosöljy), avocado (avokadoöljy).
Choosing meat
It is not always possible to determine the type of meat by sight, especially if it is sold in a marinade. Beef in Finnish is “naudanliha” (“nauda” – beef, “liha” – meat). Accordingly, if the word “nauda” or “nautaa” is on the packaging, then it is either beef or a product that contains it. For example, naudanjauheliha is ground beef. Pork – “sianliha” (“sika” – pig) or “porsas” – piglet. Minced pork and beef will have "silkanautajaheliha" written on them. Chicken – “kana” or “broileri”.
Here are a few more words you'll probably come across in the meat department: lammas, lampaan - lamb, kalkkuna - turkey, hirvi - elk, poro - venison. Meat for frying is designated by the word “paisti”, for baking – “uuni”, for grilling – “grilli”, for soup – “keitto”.
Fish department
Finnish shops are famous for delicious fresh fish (kala), caviar (mäti) and seafood delicacies. It’s simply impossible to pass by the fish department – the smell is so inviting, and your eyes widen from the richness of the assortment. The fish is sold fresh, lightly salted, cold and hot smoked, of varying degrees of cutting, both in vacuum packaging and without it, as well as canned. You can buy caviar from trout, salmon, whitefish, vendace, and severina (butterfish). It can be fresh, salted, smoked and even frozen. Be sure to try the Finnish national dishes: salmon soup “lohikeitto” and fish smoked on a board “loimulohi”.
Here is a small dictionary to help you make your choice:
We hope that with these instructions you buy exactly what you planned. Happy shopping everyone!