Skyr and whey are part of the national diet of Iceland. Skyr is a low fat cheese introduced into the island nation over a thousand years ago by Norse settlers while whey is the remaining liquid after cow's milk is curdled and strained. Whey used to be found in homes everywhere but had fallen out of fashion in the past decades. Recently, the popularity of both products has skyrocketed locally and internationally.
Skyr can now be found in Iceland's hippest restaurants. Matur og Drykkur in Reykjavik's Grandi district serves dried fish with whey butter and pickled dulse, a red algae also known as sea lettuce. Also on the menu are skyr with blueberries and whey granita.
Dill, another noteworthy restaurant, serves burnt cake with currants and whey, The Guardian reported. Another produc, Íslandus, is a new "eco-drink" using whey blended with locally-sourced berries and aromatics like wild moss and Arctic thyme.
The rest of Europe is also developing a taste for Iceland's specialties. In Finland, for instance, twice as much skyr is sold in the country compared to the home market. Finland got its first taste of skyr five years ago and exports are going up. A skyr festival was also kicked off in Lonna, an island off the coast of Helsinki, with much success, Iceland Monitor reported.
New developments in international commerce might also provide a ripe outlet for Icelandic products to get to European shelves. A new trade agreement between Iceland and the rest of Europe slashes many tariffs and could drive down the price by double digits.
At present, only 350 tons of skyr may be exported from Iceland without having to pay any tolls. The new agreement could balloon the limit more than ten times at 4,000 tons. The trade agreement is expected to come into effect in late 2016 or early 2017, Grapevine reported.
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