Viili 101

Want to make stupid easy, fool-proof raw yogurt? 

Try viili, also called piima or viilipiima, a Finnish yogurt-like food that is cultured at room temperature. It is a hearty, aggressive bacteria that happily proliferates in cool weather to turn your fresh milk into rich, probiotic yumminess. Because it cultures at room temperature; you don't need any equipment and there is no baby-sitting to keep your food at the right temperature. Also, because you don't heat the milk; you preserve the enzymes and already present positive bacteria of raw milk. I use a culture that has been in my husband's family for over 100 years. I have learned the very easy in's and out's of making this traditional food from his family and now I can help you. Here's all you need to know about it:

Firstly, viili is pronounced "FEEL-ya". When milk is cultured it is called viilipiima (FEEL-ya-PEE-meh) because Finns love the letter "I". Seriously, ever see a Finnish newspaper? Oftentimes it is just shortened to viili both by Finns in Finland (Suomi in Finnish) and by American Finns. Technically, the piima is the milk and the viili is the culture. For American foodies, there is distinction between the two which does not exist in Finland. I can't tell you the difference between the piima and viili cultures sold here as my in-laws say they are one and the same. When cream is cultured it is called kermaviili (GER-meh-FEEL-ya) as the Finnish word for cream is kerma. The yogurt-y food produced in either case (milk or cream) is much less tangy so if you are unused to unsweetened foods it might be an easy transition. It is not as "gaseous" of a culture so it is not as light and fluffy as other mesophilic (room temperature happy) cultures, for example flora Danica. It has a slippery, smooth texture and is stretchy like honey. Finns eat it with salt and sometimes with fruit and especially as a summer drink. If raw milk is out of your budget, culturing with viili will restore helpful enzymes and bacteria to store bought milk. It makes wonderful smoothies when mixed with frozen fruit.

Firstly, you will need to get a starter. Finns eat this food daily and so all Finns have it around all the time but Cultures for Health sells a great starter that is similar to my husband's family's but a nonropey variety (less stretchy). Once you have it, there are a few ways to keep a culture. Here are two:

Old School

Add between one and two tablespoons fresh starter per cup of milk or cream. The older Finns put it in raw milk, and stir only once. As the cream rises to the top, it will be the kermaviili and is fabulous! But then only one person gets it and everyone else gets the skim which is not so great. As my husband's uncle says, "The bottom stuff just tastes like that fat-free stuff at the store." I stir it two or three times while culturing (actually shake the jar) and it keeps the cream distributed evenly during culturing. When adding to homogenized milk, you won't need to stir after the initial time. Cover and rest at room temperature. In 24 hours it is done and ready to put in fridge. You might want to reserve some in a small glass jar for your next batch and also place it in the fridge. Use this fresh starter within seven days or so.

You can also mix your milk and starter and immediately refrigerate some as a starter while the other cultures. This means the culture will slowly consume the milk sugars as they have slower metabolism in the fridge. You can wait ten to fourteen days before reculturing. You can also go back and forth from milk to cream with your starter with no problems so there is no need to keep separate cultures. Technically speaking, this is not the "proper" way to do it. The old Finlanders don't keep a pure starter and have been doing it this way since snow was invented. In fact, when I asked about keeping a second "pure" starter my husband's uncle thought it was funny. He reminded me that the old Finns made it before there was a "proper" way. But nonetheless, I will provide instructions for the "proper" way.

Propagating a Sterile Culture

This is the supposed "proper" way. Using pasteurized milk or raw milk heated in a double boiler to 140 and cooled to 100, add fresh starter. I make a half gallon at a time with a half cup of starter. Rest the mixture, covered, for 24 hours and then pour into ice cube trays that have been scrupulously washed. Freeze hard and then removes the cubes and double bag and keep in freezer for not more than six months.

You can add the frozen cubes (about two tablespoons worth per cube) to fresh milk. Stir two or three times during the culturing period. If you have frozen culture, you will not need to reserve any for later. This can be a boon for small families who don't want to keep culturing milk, if you need a break for a vacation, or just to make things easier like after a new baby. I do keep a pure starter and I am using raw milk so my method is a mixture of the two.

Summer Culturing

In summer weather the viili can culture so fast that it turns into cream cheese very quickly. It is so solid you won't need to drain it but can spoon it out. It will be thick and mild and makes a great spread for sandwiches especially with a little nutmeg or cinnamon added. The benefit to making viili cheese is that you can save the whey for fermenting. If you let the milk go too long, the result is the same. But be careful because the positive bacteria can consume all the available sugars and die meaning you won't be able to reuse it as a culture and you risk spoilage. If it is very hot where you are, you can culture it in the fridge. It will take three times as long but can be used as a buttermilk-like drink after 36 hours or so but the texture suffers. My husband's grandmother always resorted to this method in the summer much to his dismay. To this day he calls it "milk snot". But it can be used in smoothies and no one will know!

Cream Cheese


If you want to make you own homemade, probiotic cream cheese it is really easy to make it from your cultured milk. Line a colander with a double layer of cheesecloth, the cheap stuff from the grocery store will work fine. Set it over a bowl or a pot. I prefer a pot with a lid to keep it clean. Pour in your milk, pull up the ends of the cloth and tie them and set them inside the pot and cover. For very mild cheese, drain in the fridge. I usually do it on the counter for an additional 24 hours. The cheese inside the cloth will be your cream cheese and there will be whey in bottom of your pot.

The Whey to Go

The whey is rich in probiotic cultures and can be used to kick start lacto-fermentation. See Nourishing Traditions; Eat Fat, Lose Fat; Wild Fermentation; and my personal favorite fermentation reference Complete Idiot's Guide to Fermenting Foods as well as some free ones on the author's website GNOWFGLINS in addition to the ones included in membership to that website HERE. I want to be very clear that I am not an affiliate for either Wardeh or for Amazon and I receive no compensation if you make a purchase. I do believe strongly in Wardeh's style of teaching as well as all of these books. the whey can be kept in the fridge in a tightly sealed jar for up to six months, but discard if it develops mold or odors. You can pour expired or extra whey on your compost to add extra bacteria to the heap.

Last Tips

Don't use ultra-pasteurized milk or cream! Your viili will survive for only a few generations; after that, you will have weakened the culture and it might not be aggressive enough and you risk the entry of pathogenic bacteria. In other words, the milk will rot and not culture. Rotting milk is not yummy or good for you. You can also propagate other cool temperature cultures this way. At your cheese making supply or online you can pick-up generic mesophilic cultures, or specialty ones like my other stand-by, flora Danica. Follow the same methods. I would recommend keeping a pure starter of these. In continually using raw milk, you risk contaminating your starter with outside bacteria which might compete or over-take it. I know my viili has survived for this long and seems darn near indestructible but I can't and won't guarantee other cultures can take it.

Organic and raw: apples, viili, honey and cinnamon.

How do you eat it? Well, try it with fresh or frozen fruit like above. Strain it with cheesecloth for cream cheese spread for fruit and bread. With a few spices or garden herbs it can be a great dip for veggies, homemade crackers or crispy pancakes. You can layer it in to parfaits with crispy nuts and homemade breakfast cereal (recipe HERE). You can mix it with fresh juice for a richer and more substantial juice drink. You can put it on pancakes and waffles instead of sweet syrups (recipe HERE), which is a common Finnish way. You can also make smoothies out of it with some coconut oil and frozen fruit. Drizzle it over baked goods like oven baked oatmeal or coffee cakes. Really, the possibilities are virtually endless! Just remember that if you cook it or heat it you will kill the live active cultures which make it a health giving food. So try viili and stop buying yogurt already!

If you want to see viili in action, watch this video from Cultures for Health. I do want to tell you, that yes, I am aware the Julie is mispronouncing the word. But, to her credit, there aren't very many Americans who know how to say it properly. The video is excellent, by the way.

Julie shows you how to make the easiest yogurt, ever.

Looking for a good source to buy viili or other dairy starters? I wholeheartedly recommend Cultures for Health whose flash ad is at the top of the page. I am a strong believer in their product line and am a customer myself. Please note that I am an affiliate and do receive compensation if you order and I thank you for ordering through my site.