Fermentation Support Forum

Hi all,

I just started making Viili. The starter culture took about 36 hours, and set fine. I ate most of it, and made a second batch, which seems to have set fine too, in about 16 hours. My room temp is fine and doesn't fluctuate much. The consistency and look is fine - gelatinous and slightly runny, with occasional long strands.

The thing is, my wife thinks it smells bad. What I can smell is a normal lactic acid yoghurt type smell, and there is a slight other smell, which you probably could describe as a wet shoe smell - it's only slight though. You could also describe it as a slightly cheesy smell too. Now I can't remember if it was there after the starter culture was ready, but it was there after 4 days of the starter (when I started the next batch) and it's there now the new batch is set (and before it's gone in the fridge. I ate most of the starter batch and no adverse reactions.

So, my question is - what exactly is Viili supposed to smell like, and should I be worried?

thanks
Dave

In my experience viili should only smell lightly sour, no wet shoes or more developed cheesy notes. A bit different from yogurt but not strong. I don't culture it myself, and have mostly eaten the store-bought varieties. My grandma had some viili going some summers and I've tasted a viili made on a biodynamical farm, and the taste and smell were always mild.

I keep a kefir going, and it sometimes has taken on a less pleasant taste or smell from a batch of milk that apparently has started going off. You can rinse the grains but I do not know what you could try with viili, maybe change the type of milk used?