Friday, March 11, 2011

Filmjölk

One of the ladies at work keeps raving to me about how great filmjölk is and how much I should try it. When I asked her what it was she had a hard time describing it to me. She said it was something in between buttermilk and yogurt. She told me filmjölk is available in flavors and I should try a favored one first. So when I was at the grocery store I picked up some filmjölk. Here's my bottle at home.


I opted for blueberry, my co-workers favorite. I used it in my morning museli in lieu of milk or yogurt. It poured out just like she said, thinner than yogurt but still looked like yogurt. After the first bite I wasn't so sure about this stuff. It tasted like thick sour milk to me more than yogurt. But I kept going and by the end of the bowl I thought it was alright. I'll finish my container but I'm not so sure I'll buy more. Maybe it's one of those things you have to grow up with to love?


I did some further research on the internet so I could accurately describe to you all what exactly filmjölk is. Here's what I've figured out:


Filmjölk is a Swedish mesophilic fermented milk product that is made by fermenting cow's milk with a variety of bacterium from the species Lactococcus lactis and Leuconostoc mesenteroides. The bacteria metabolize lactose, the sugar naturally found in milk, into lactic acid. The acid gives filmjölk a sour taste and causes proteins in the milk, mainly casein, tocoagulate, thus thickening the final product. The bacteria also produce a limited amount of diacetyl, which gives filmjölk its characteristic taste. Filmjölk is similar to cultured buttermilk, kefir, or yoghurt in consistency, but fermented by different bacteria and thus has a slightly different taste. Compared with yoghurt, filmjölk tastes less sour. In Sweden, it is normally sold in 1-liter packages with live bacteria. 
(Source: filmjölk wikipedia page March 6, 2011)


So, it's mostly about the bacteria used to ferment the milk. Apparently different bacteria produce different flavored milk and here in Sweden the dairy aisle proves this. I'll take a picture next time I go. The dairy aisle here is seriously overwhelming. This bacterial difference might seem obvious to some of you out their but I had never contemplated the subject before and since there is a total of 1 type of yogurt available in the States it didn't seem so obvious to me. If you want to know more specifics see the wiki page:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filmj%C3%B6lk

This venture down the dairy aisle has me tepid to continue but I'll update you as I progress.
Love Always,
Matilda

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