Skyr Recipe: How to Make Icelandic Yogurt at Home

My trip to Iceland almost 7 years ago (already!) is memorable primarily for the landscapes and the laughs- not so much the cuisine. That’s primarily because we ate what could be carried in backpacks and cooked over a tiny propane stove, but still. If I try to recall the Icelandic food we ate, four things come to mind: 1. Gas station hot dogs, 2. a lamb sandwich one time, 3. A couple of really good brunches, and 4. SKYR. So much skyr. I was already a Greek yogurt aficionado prior to that trip- creamy skyr quickly became a new favorite.

I was so excited when I started seeing various flavors of skyr in a few local grocery stores, but even more excited to make my own skyr recipe!

Skyr has the appearance of a very thick yogurt, with a consistency that is usually somewhere between regular yogurt and say…cream cheese. Technically speaking, however, skyr is made like a cheese, not a yogurt, and therefore contains liquid rennet. It is made with low-fat milk, which makes for a high protein/low fat final product. It is creamy and smooth and entirely delicious!

Equipment for Homemade Skyr 

• Heavy-bottomed pot (like a big stock pot, or dutch oven)
• Candy thermometer 
• Small bowls
• Small whisk or fork
• Wooden spoon
• Colander
• Cheesecloth 
• Large bowl

Ingredients for Homemade Skyr Recipe

• 1/2 gallon (64 fl oz) skim milk: I use skimmed raw milk, but any skim milk should do!
• 1/4 cup plain skyr, such as Siggi’s: or use vanilla, if you plan to flavor your skyr with vanilla as well. See notes if you cannot find skyr in your grocery stores! 
• 4 drops liquid animal rennet OR 2 drops liquid vegetable rennet
• 1/4 cup filtered lukewarm water
• Optional: one vanilla bean, split and scraped 

Note: If you can’t buy skyr, use plain Greek yogurt instead of skyr for your live cultures in a pinch. This is only needed for the first batch; you’ll use some of your own skyr to culture future batches. 

The Process: How to Make this Skyr Recipe (Icelandic Yogurt)

Pour your milk into a large pot and place on the stove over medium heat. Place a candy thermometer in the milk so that you can watch the temperature. You want to slowly, steadily heat the milk to 185-190 degrees Farenheit. Avoid heating it too fast or it will scald. 

Note- if it does hit the scalding point, just avoid scraping the bottom of the pot- the scalded milk should remain in the pan when you pour it off. If you notice that scalding is beginning, turn the burner down to low heat. 

If you are using a vanilla bean in your skyr, add that to the milk before heating as well. 

When the milk reaches 185-190 degrees, remove it from the heat and allow it to cool back to 110 degrees Farenheit. 

Remove one cup of your cooled milk to a small bowl or a liquid measuring cup. Thoroughly whisk in your starter culture (your plain Siggi’s or other plain skyr). 

Return the mixture to the pot and stir it in to fully incorporate. 

Whisk your rennet into 1/4 cup water- lukewarm, room temperature or warm water should all work fine, but not hot or very cold. 

Add your water & rennet back to the pot and stir briskly for one minute to fully incorporate. 

Put the lid on your pan, move it to a warm place in the kitchen (you want to avoid drafts or drastic temperature changes). Insulate your pot by draping a bath towel or blanket over it. 

Leave it for 12 hours.

When you remove the lid, you should be able to see that the skyr is visibly separating into curds and whey. The whey looks like a yellowish liquid floating around the top and sides.

Line a colander with a double layer of cheesecloth and place it inside a large mixing bowl.

Alternatively, use a nut milk bag or muslin-You need some sort of porous material.

Use a wooden spoon to scoop all of the curds out of the pot and onto your cheesecloth. Tie it in a knot and hoist the whole thing up so that the whey drains down into the mixing bowl.

You need to hook it to something- I loop it over the handles on my cupboard. Leave it for several hours- at least four. You will likely be baffled by the sheer amount of whey that will come out.

After the skyr is thoroughly drained, take it down. You can serve it right away if you like or put it in an airtight container and transfer it to the fridge for later. 

Skyr will keep tightly covered in the fridge for a few weeks! Save at least a few tablespoons to culture your next batch of homemade skyr.

Notes

If you want to sweeten your entire batch, you can. First remove a few tablespoons of the plain skyr so that you can culture your next batch, then use a hand mixer or a stand mixer to beat it while you drizzle in your sweetener: you can use honey, maple syrup, or another liquid sweetener of your choosing. 

You can also drizzle back in a small amount of whey and beat it vigorously to your desired consistency if you would like to slightly loosen/control the texture of your skyr. 

How to Serve Skyr

With fresh fruit or fresh berries, and a little honey or maple syrup! I made a sauce out of the fresh rhubarb from my garden, and it makes for such a delicious breakfast over this skyr. 

You can also use a cup of skyr as a base for a smoothie or a baked good that calls for sour cream or greek yogurt, but I’ll be honest with you: I do question why you’d do that. Use the store bought stuff for that. (Do whatever you’d like- just my two cents). 

What Should I Make Next?

Since you’ve got some rennet on hand, try Finnish Squeaky Cheese next!

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Did you make this recipe? Let me know how it went in the comments! If you share on Instagram, please tag me at @sisuhomemaker. And I always love to hear from you- send questions, comments, concerns, etc to carol@sisuhomemaker.com!