viili pancakes

Ingredients

• 1 cup viili

• 1 cup flour

• 1 tbsp sugar

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1/2 tsp baking powder

• 1/4 tsp baking soda

• 3 tbsp butter melted and cooled

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp nutmeg

• 1 tbsp vanilla

• 1/2 cup frozen wild blueberries (optional)

Recipe

1. Put all ingredients in bowl. Mix.

2. Fry pancakes in oil or butter until desired doneness.

3. Serve pancakes with butter, syrup, jam, nutella, whipped cream, or however you like pancakes.

What is viili?

Viili is a mesophilic fermented dairy product, that means that it ferments at room temperature, unlike most yogurts that ferment at elevated temperatures. What does this mean for you? It means you can ferment viili at home right on your kitchen counter without any special equipment.

Do you want to know how to make viili? Check out this step by step by @lacto_fermentation on Instagram.

Where to get viili culture?

The Art of Fermentation by Sandor Katz mentions GEM Cultures as a resource to find high quality heirloom viili within the United States. The viili cultures from GEM Cultures is the ropey variety, mild and not sour. Get your spoons ready!

Ways to use viili.

When you start making homemade viili, you may find yourself overwhelmed with viili yogurt. What to do with too much yogurt? You can use it as a replacement for other fermented foods in recipes. In this pancake recipe, we replaced buttermilk for yogurt. It’s an easy swap, performs well, and tastes great. It’s also a great option if you find that you don’t love the texture of ropey villi and want to find a good use for your fresh homemade yogurt.