This week we dive into the thick and viscous world of viili yogurt. If you haven’t tried this heirloom yogurt then you are in for a treat. We cover the flavor, texture, origins, and cultural background of this prized heirloom yogurt from Finland.
And speaking of slimy ferments, we also talk about natto! Branden is still undecided if his first batch of natto turned out as it was supposed to or if it over-fermented.
We also cover a couple of news stories regarding fermented cow dung and chocolate. Yum!
Show notes:
| [Our microbiota likes chocolate too | Gut Microbiota Worldwatch](https://www.gutmicrobiotawatch.org/our-microbiota-likes-chocolate-too/) |
Another reason chocolate may be good for you. This time the studies focus on flavanols and how they may be prebiotic to the bacteria in your gut. This is regarding dark chocolate. Sorry to all of you milk chocolate lovers.
| [Fermented cow dung air freshener wins two students top science prize | TreeHugger](https://www.treehugger.com/sustainable-agriculture/cow-dung-air-freshener-dwi-nailul-izzah-rintya-aprianti-miki.html) |
Two Indonesian high school students win a gold medal at the Science Project Olympiad for their fermented cow dung air freshener.
| [Stretch That Yogurt - How to Make Viili At Home | FermUp](https://fermup.com/blog/how-to-make-viili-at-home/) |
| [Milk: Beyond the Dairy: Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cooking 1999 | Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1903018064/fermup-20) |
Good book that covers the 1999 Oxford Symposium on Food and Cooking which focused on many different fermented milks including viili.
| [The History of Fermented Soymilk and Its Products | Soy Info Center](https://www.soyinfocenter.com/HSS/fermented_soymilk.php) |
This is from an unpublished manuscript. Yes, it does focus on soymilk, but it also covers a lot on dairy viili.
| [Microbiology and Biochemistry of Cheese and Fermented Milk | Amazon](https://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0751403466/fermup-20) |
This book is a little older but is still a good reference for the science behind cheese and fermented dairy.
| [Image of Finnish viili cupboard | Viili Culture Blog](https://viiliculture.wordpress.com/2011/09/28/viili-cupboard/) |
As far as we understand, these cupboards use to be common in Finnish homes. Not so much today as many people purchase their yogurt commercially.
| [Nickelodeon Gak 1990s Commercial | YouTube](https://youtu.be/_iDALjY4QnY) |
Does anyone remember this stuff?
| [Almond Yogurt Recipe | Indian Healthy Recipes](https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/2013/02/almond-yogurt-recipe.html) |
Danijela liked this almond puree yogurt but Branden wasn’t enthusiastic about the chalky consistency.
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