Skyr is a fresh sour milk cheese, similar to curd cheese, consumed like yoghurt. Photo: Robin Martin / RNZ
A Taranaki business is the first in the Southern Hemisphere to make an Icelandic superfood to a unique recipe said to have fuelled the Vikings on their travels more than 1000 years ago.
Skyr is a fresh sour milk cheese, similar to curd cheese, consumed like yoghurt.
Ross Bolton farms about 700 cows on 350 hectares near Egmont Village. He used to deliver about a tanker load of milk to Fonterra everyday until an Icelandic mate of his suggested he try his hand at making skyr.
Several million dollars later, his processing plant supplies all New Zealand's major supermarkets and is about to begin exporting to Australia.
Bolton said the Isey Skyr brand - which he made under licence - used a recipe that had its roots in Icelandic homes.
"It's been around for about 1100 years. Originally it was made in everybody's kitchens in Iceland and the recipe was passed down from mother to daughter.
"And they used to make it to keep the family going, especially when it was freezing cold."
The Vikings were also fans.
"When there was nothing else available they lived on it, and when they went on their longboat crusades they took a skyr maker along with them - usually a lady from the village - so if they found a cow on their pillaging escapades, they could milk it and make some more."
Ross Bolton with some of his skyr. Photo: Robin Martin / RNZ
He said to make skyr, milk went through a separator pasteuriser before going to a fermentation tank where culture was added. After being left to ferment it was filtered before flavours were added and it was packed.
Bolton said Skyr was often mistaken for yoghurt.
"Everyone says it's yoghurt and it does play in the yoghurt market, but in actual fact it's a cultured liquid cheese and so it's very creamy, very smooth.
"It takes flavours very well and in fact it enhances flavours. If you put a flavour like strawberry or something in it, it tastes better than the real thing."
It was typically made with three to four times the amount of milk as yoghurt and was a favourite of fitness buffs.
"It's very, very healthy for people. It's zero fat, zero sugar and 14 percent protein, so it's good for mum and dad to have at home for the kitchen, it's good for body builders, it's good for old people, it's good for sick people, it's good for children and infants. It fits every part of the market."
Bolton was producing about 20 tonnes or 12,000-15,000 punnets a day, a number likely to double when exports to Australia began.
So far he offered five flavours, including blueberry, baked apple, crème brulée and natural.
Ross Bolton. Photo: Robin Martin / RNZ
The proof of the pudding is in the tasting, right? So, Bolton offered your correspondent a punnet of his most popular flavour.
"This one's crème brulée, and because it's got the name crème in it we actually do have 2 percent fat whereas the rest have got zero. It can't be crème brulée without some crème, right?
"But as you see, the test of it is that it won't fall off a spoon and the spoon leaves a divot in it. It's not like yoghurt which is sloppy, glurpy or whatever the word is. Try it - tell me what you think."
For the record, Isey Skyr was quite rich, creamy in texture and substantial for something yoghurt in nature and strangely filling.
As for the taste? Well, you can't really go wrong with crème brulée, can you? Yum!
Ross Bolton's Isey Skyr plant forms part of the Taranaki Taste and Tales tour being held next month.