Juustoleipä, Finnish for "bread-cheese"is a bizarre and mysterious coffee-dipping phenomenon popular in Finland and some parts of Norway, not to mention quite a mouthful. It is cubed or sliced into biscotti-esque strips, and has a buttery, squeaky consistency, and is traditionally made from reindeer milk.
To
be honest, all I've ever dipped in coffee is a donut. But I intend to find and try this stuff... I wonder where I can buy it.
Look at it. It looks like a freaking cube of tofu. Or flan. I like flan, but I'm not a huge fan of tofu... I wonder if it jiggles...
Anyway, if I manage to get my hands on the stuff, I'll definitely let you know what I think.I wonder what reindeer milk tastes like. How do you think it steams?... Do they make reindeer milk lattes in Finland? They should.
Phyllis, from a blog called Me Hungry describes the cheese as having "a mild buttery flavor, similar to mozzerella but a bit saltier." Similarly, some Ethiopians take their coffee with salt, as you should know from my previous post. I hope you're taking notes because there's going to be a quiz.Just kidding.
Except, Ethiopians who take their coffee with salt abstain from adding cream and sugar, unlike the Finnish who find the bread cheese goes best with a sweet, creamy cup of coffee.Interestingly, Phyllis suggests cubing the stuff and then sautéing it enough to brown each side until the middle gets melty and it looks like a mini-pancake. Best topped with jam, honey & walnuts or maple syrup.
I don't know about adding salt to the coffee as a flavoring agent, but I can tell you that an old Navy trick is to add a very light sprinkle of salt (just a pinch, really) to the grounds before brewing. It cuts the bitterness and improves the flavor when you're using low quality coffee (like what ships usually stock).
ReplyDeleteI've never noticed added saltiness because of it, but YMMV.