flipSkyr með berjum — Skyr with Wild Berries
Skyr með berjum — Skyr with Wild Berries
Why this dish? Árni grew up at Kvennabrekka in the Dalir valley, in the heart of rural Iceland where skyr was the daily pillar of every farm table. This tangy dairy, sweetened in summer with berries picked on the moor, was the taste of his childhood before Copenhagen.
A thick, pearly skyr, halfway between fresh cheese and drained yogurt, softened with a drizzle of cream and scattered with bog blueberries and black crowberries gathered on the heath. Fresh, sharp, lightly sweet.
I knew skyr before letters: at Kvennabrekka, my mother drained it in a cloth until it became thick as cheese. We ate it every day, and in summer, when the children brought their baskets from the moor, we mixed in *krækiber* and *bláber*, and it was a feast without costing a thing. Pour a little cream to soften the sourness, and taste: this is the true flavor of my country, long before I knew Copenhagen.
- •Skyr (skim milk curdled and drained) — a good bowlful (dairy base)
- •Cream — a drizzle (softens acidity)
- •Crowberries (krækiber) and bog blueberries (bláber) — a handful (wild fruit, tart sweetness)
Skyr með berjum — Skyr with Wild Berries
A thick, pearly skyr, halfway between fresh cheese and drained yogurt, softened with a drizzle of cream and scattered with bog blueberries and black crowberries gathered on the heath. Fresh, sharp, lightly sweet.
Why this dish? Árni grew up at Kvennabrekka in the Dalir valley, in the heart of rural Iceland where skyr was the daily pillar of every farm table. This tangy dairy, sweetened in summer with berries picked on the moor, was the taste of his childhood before Copenhagen.
I knew skyr before letters: at Kvennabrekka, my mother drained it in a cloth until it became thick as cheese. We ate it every day, and in summer, when the children brought their baskets from the moor, we mixed in *krækiber* and *bláber*, and it was a feast without costing a thing. Pour a little cream to soften the sourness, and taste: this is the true flavor of my country, long before I knew Copenhagen.
Ingredients (period version)
- Skyr (skim milk curdled and drained) — a good bowlful (dairy base)
- Cream — a drizzle (softens acidity)
- Crowberries (krækiber) and bog blueberries (bláber) — a handful (wild fruit, tart sweetness)
Ingredients
- Plain skyr — 400 g (base)
- Heavy cream — 4 tbsp (creaminess)
- Blueberries (or substitute Nordic wild berries) — 150 g (fruit)
- Honey — 1-2 tsp (optional) (extra sweetness)
Method
- If using firm store-bought skyr, whisk it briefly to loosen.
- Stir in the cream in a stream to soften the acidity without thinning too much.
- Divide into bowls and top with fresh berries.
- Sweeten with a drizzle of honey only if the berries are very tart, and serve at once, well chilled.
How it was made : Skyr has been made since the age of the sagas: skim milk is heated, curdled with a little rennet and some skyr from the day before, then drained for a long time, which simultaneously produces the precious *sýra*. Sugar was rare and costly, so only the berries of the moor — crowberries, blueberries, lingonberries — brought sweetness in the fair season.
The contemporary twist : Today skyr conquers supermarket shelves worldwide as a superfood: serve it layered in a glass with blueberry coulis and a crunchy crumble for a chic Nordic dessert.
Sources : Hallgerður Gísladóttir, Íslensk matarhefð, Mál og menning, 1999
Árni Magnússon · Charactorium
