Viili
- Viilian redirects here. "Villian" is also a frequent misspelling of the term "villain".
Viili (Finnish viili, Swedish fil) is a type of yoghurt (a mesophilic fermented milk) that originated in the Nordic countries. It has a ropy, gelatinous consistency and a sour taste resulting from lactic acid. This cultured milk product is the results of microbial action of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and a surface-growing yeast-like fungus Geotrichum candidum present in milk, which forms a velvet-like surface on viili. In addition, most traditional viili cultures also contain yeast strains such as Kluveromyces marxianus and Pichia fermentans. The LAB identified in viili including Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris, Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis biovar. diacetylactis, Leuconostoc mesenteroides subsp. cremoris. Among those mesophilic LAB strains, the slime-forming Lc. lactis subsp. cremoris produce a phosphate-containing heteropolysaccharide, named viilian. Viilian is similar to kefiran produced by kefir grains. The production of exopolysaccharides (EPS) by the strain forms the consistency character of viili and it has been claimed to have various functional benefits toward the rheological properties of milk products and the health improving potential.
See also
- Fermented milk products
- Filmjölk - a similar yoghurt-like product from Sweden
- Skyr - a similar yoghurt-like product from Iceland
References
- Leporanta, K. 2003. Viili and Långfil – exotic fermented products from Scandinavia. Valio Foods & Functionals. On line version
- Mistry, V. V. 2004. Fermented liquid milk products. In: Handbook of food and beverage fermentation technology. (Ed. Y. H. Hui, L. Meunier-Goddik, Å. S. Hansen, J. Josephsen, W. Nip, P. S. Stanfield and F. Toldrá) Marcel Dekker, Inc. New York, U.S.A.
- Ruas-Madiedo, P., M. Gueimonde, C. G. De los Reyes-Gavilán and S. Salminen. 2006. Short communication: Effect of exopolysaccharide isolated from “viili” on the adhesion of probiotics and pathogens to intestinal mucus. J. Dairy Sci. 89:2355-2358.
- Shurtleff, W. and A. Aoyagi. 2004. History of Fermented Soymilk and Its products: History of Soybeans and Soyfoods: 1100 B.C. to the 1980s. Soyfoods Center, Lafayette, California.
