Messmör (Swedish Whey Butter) and Hyggelig

 

I often call myself a 1/4 Extrovert and 3/4 Introvert and being alone most of the time is fine with me.  But once in a while I love a gathering, the Exchange.

 

My friend Dennis recently taught me a Danish word with no direct English translation, and I think it describes what I love about little gatherings.  The word is Hyggelig (pronounced hoogly): the art of creating intimacy…that feeling after dinner with friends when you hang out for hours around a fire…the exchange of thoughts, stories, news and laughs in a relaxed setting where time melts away and the only things that matter are the people around you in a cozy atmosphere, laughing and talking for hours.

 

Last weekend was the annual gathering of long time friends in this Wisconsin hostel-cabin that is our home base for the month.  Along with a few outings to the ski trails, eighteen of us spent many hours lounging, talking, eating, sharing, playing games, and laughing….lots of laughing.  This is one of the best parts of our humanness in my opinion, and I think we did justice to the word Hyggelig.  Dennis would be proud.

 

I’m also sending out a thanks to the many offerings those friends left behind for us when they departed after the long weekend, especially the well-wishes to Scott for the upcoming Birkie race this Saturday.  It felt like we were being sponsored with Good Luck, as well as cheese, cabbage, eggs, cream, apples, homemade salsa and maple syrup!  It was great support for their Iowa representative in the nordic ski world.

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Messmör is a soft reduced whey butter with a caramely Gjetost-like flavor that is popular in Sweden and is packed full of protein, calcium and iron.

 

Scott remembers this as a favorite snack when he spent time in Mora, Sweden decades ago.   Like Gjetost, some people may need time to acquire a taste for this tangy-caramel-cheese-butter, but I love it.  Give me a pair of skis, some GF crackers and a tub of messmör and I will have a good day.  Oh yeah…the snow, there would need to be snow too.

Messmör can be made with fresh or powdered whey. If the whey is fresh, all day will be needed to cook off the liquid.  Store it in the refrigerator overnight if it’s not finished and start the simmering again the next day.

 

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Making Fresh Whey

Fresh whey is the liquid left after a curdling agent (rennet or vinegar) has been added to milk and the curds have been strained.  I used liquid rennet—about 1/4 teaspoon to 8 cups of milk.

Heat the milk to 110 degrees, then add the rennet or vinegar.  Turn off the heat and allow the milk to curdle (30-60 minutes), then pour the mixture through a colander or cheesecloth (to catch the curds) over another pot (to catch the whey).

The watery milky liquid is the whey.  The curds are basically a form of Ricotta cheese and can be used for things like Saag Paneer, Lasagna, Ostakaka or other treats that call for a fresh cheese.

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Powdered Whey can be found in health food stores (I ordered mine in a one pound bag).  Powdered whey requires less cooking time, and does not create the deep caramel color like the whey that had cooked for 2 days.  It looks more like whipped honey.

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This was the consistency of a thin pudding when I pulled it from the heat.  I stirred it while it cooled to help reduce crystallization, but it still had a very mild grittiness.  Scott said that in Sweden they remove the messmör from the refrigerator to warm up to a creamy spreadable consistency that he compared to mayonnaise.

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Messmör

Cook Time: All day for fresh whey, or a couple of hours for powdered whey

 

Using Fresh Whey

Simmer in a stainless or porcelain pot:

Whey — 1-3 gallons, or however much you have

Scrape off foam that may form on the top as it heats.  Save it to add back at the end.

Simmer it all the live long day. 

As the whey thickens, stir and keep a close watch on it as it can easily burn. 

When the consistency is similar to a tomato sauce or a thin pudding, remove from heat.

Continue stirring occasionally until cool.   

NOTE:  It will form a grainy texture if it is not stirred as it is cooling. 

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Using Powdered Whey

Mix the powdered whey with water, I used approximately 4 cups water to 2 cups powdered whey.  

Follow the above cooking instructions.  It will take less time.  

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Some recipes add in:

A dash of sugar

 

Serve on toast, crackers, or apples. 

Enjoy the protein and mineral rush!  

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Outside our door…

 

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16 thoughts on “Messmör (Swedish Whey Butter) and Hyggelig”

  • Sorry about the comments being ‘off’ in the last post…I am not sure how that happened or how I turn them back on!

  • Off to make a batch! Thank you for the recipe.

    This has been a childhood memory and no, we can’t buy it in The US.

  • I tried this in Sweden on my first visit back to my partner’s family. I love it. We tried to bring in some sealed jars (I think) back to aust. but it was taken off us- we thought we’d give it a go.
    I tried to make some from the whey left over from cheese making and even though I cooked it all day and stirred it regularly, I didn’t take it off the heat to cool and thicken and stir, so was grainy. WIll have another go.
    Can you tell me where to buy powdered whey- all I can find are health food drinks. I assume you want no other additives

  • On my first of three visits to relatves in Sweden I immediately fell in love with messmör on crisp thinbread at breakfast.

    on my third trip, one evenings light supper of homemade thinbread, messmör and thinly sliced roast moose with a microbrew still makes my mouth water ten years later!

    Also, try messmör on dark chocolate or chocolate cookies.

    Trivs!

    • Wow—messmör and roast moose! Maybe I could try with bison or elk.
      Eating it with dark chocolate sounds like a delicious treat as well, it may be time to make another batch soon…
      Thanks for the recommendations!

  • Just back from Sweden. I Bought a cookery book there. It says messmör is made from milk serum, sugar, butter and vanillin. Not mentioned in your recipe. I’m puzzled. Any help?

    • I just looked up milk serum—it is whey! I’ve never heard that term before. You can use dry whey, or make your own.

      • And adding butter, sugar and vanilla would make anything better, probably added to make it more lovely and not as intense. This was a basic recipe adopted from an old Swedish cookbook, Scott had to translate.

  • I just finished making Manchego cheese and have two gallons of Whey to use. I wanted to see what could be done with it. Messmör, is something new and unique that I have never heard of, and I love trying new foods!! Thank You for the recipe, I have run out of time today, but will start some tomorrow, and possibly the next day cooking it as well. I will let You know how it goes. Thank You and Scott for the recipe!

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