Okay, so, cheese from Finland, right? It wasn’t exactly on my bucket list, but hey, life throws you curveballs. And sometimes, those curveballs are in the shape of a cheese wheel.
It all started last month. My neighbor, bless her heart, went on some sort of Scandinavian kick. Next thing I know, she’s back with stories of reindeer and, you guessed it, Finnish cheese. She couldn’t stop raving about some baked cheese she had, and that got me thinking, “I can probably make that.”
So, first things first, I hit the internet. Turns out, “Finnish cheese” isn’t just one thing. There’s a whole bunch of different kinds. But the one that seemed easiest to tackle, and the one my neighbor was going on about, was Leipäjuusto, also known as “bread cheese” or “squeaky cheese.” Apparently, you can bake it or fry it, and it gets all kinds of delicious.
The big issue? Getting the right kind of milk. Traditional Leipäjuusto is made with reindeer milk. Yeah, good luck finding that at your local grocery store. I did some digging and found out cow’s milk can work, but it needs to be really, really fresh. Like, straight-from-the-farm fresh. Thankfully, there’s a dairy farm about an hour away from me, so I took a drive and picked up a gallon of their freshest stuff. They looked at me a bit funny when I said I was making Finnish cheese, but hey, everyone’s got their quirks.
Now, the recipe I found online was pretty straightforward. You heat the milk, add some rennet (I bought mine online – Amazon to the rescue!), let it set, cut the curds, and then drain off the whey. It’s basically cheese-making 101. The trick, I think, is getting the temperature just right. I messed up the first batch because it was too hot. Ended up with something that looked more like scrambled eggs than cheese.
Second batch was a charm! I carefully monitored the temperature, and after about an hour, I had a nice, firm curd. I cut it into squares and let it drain in a cheesecloth-lined colander for a few hours. Then, I gently pressed it to get rid of any extra moisture.
This is where it gets interesting. Traditionally, Leipäjuusto is baked or grilled to give it that distinctive toasted flavor. Since I don’t have a proper outdoor grill, I decided to try baking it in the oven. I preheated it to 350°F (about 175°C) and baked the cheese for about 30 minutes, flipping it halfway through.
The result? Freaking amazing! It browned up beautifully, and the edges got all crispy. When I cut into it, it had that characteristic squeaky texture. I took a bite, and it was slightly sweet, slightly savory, and incredibly satisfying.
I served it up with some cloudberry jam (another one of my neighbor’s Finnish finds) and some crackers. My family went nuts for it! Even my picky-eater son devoured it.
So, yeah, making cheese from Finland was a totally random and unexpected adventure. But it was also a lot of fun, and the end result was delicious. I might even try making some other Finnish cheeses in the future. Who knows? Maybe I’ll become a cheese-making expert. Stranger things have happened!
- Got fresh milk from local farm.
- Used rennet to make curds.
- Baked the cheese at 350°F until browned.
- Served with cloudberry jam.
Definitely recommend giving it a try if you’re feeling adventurous!
