Leipajuusto Country

Leipajuusto, bread cheese, is made by setting fresh milk with rennet, pressing the curd into a flat round and then baking or grilling it until the surface blisters and browns in patches, which is where the name comes from. It was originally made with reindeer or cow colostrum in the north of Finland and kept through the winter by drying, then softened in coffee. Today it is made with ordinary cow's milk, sold fresh in a vacuum pack in every supermarket in the country, and eaten warm: heated in the oven and served with cloudberry jam, which is the standard combination, or dropped into a cup of coffee, which is the older one. It squeaks against the teeth.

Highlights

• Browned blistered surface - the baking that gives it the name.
• Served with cloudberry jam - the standard northern combination.
• Cheese in coffee - the older way of eating it in the north.
• The squeak against the teeth - the texture of the fresh curd.

When to go

Year round; cloudberries are picked in late July and August and the fresh jam is best then. One hour. Buy from a market hall or farm shop rather than a supermarket if you can.

Practical notes

It is mild to the point of blandness on its own; the jam is doing much of the work. Supermarket versions are made industrially and vary. Cloudberry jam is expensive because the berries are picked by hand from bogs.

Nearby

Kainuu and Lapland markets are where it is best found.