Larson Farm Maple Skyr is a drained Icelandic yogurt made from organic, 100% grass-fed Jersey cow milk. Skyr is traditionally made by first hand skimming the cream off the top of the milk and using the remaining milk to make yogurt which is drained and whipped. The result is creamy, slightly tangy and similar to a greek-style yogurt with a hint of maple.
Keep refrigerated.
It's obvious that the Larsons love their little milking cows and take very good care of "the girls". One can't achieve the creamy goodness of their dairy products from stressed out cows, no matter what you do to hide the flavor and texture from an unhappy cow.
The Larson Jerseys must be a happy little herd because they make me feel like one happy little old lady customer.....you can take that to the bank!....
The process of making Skyr begins with hand skimming the milk. Hand skimming results in a milk with approximately 2% butterfat, as opposed to whole milk, which is around 5-5.5% butterfat. After the milk is skimmed it is pasteurized and cultured with a traditional Icelandic yogurt culture, and finally, left to incubate overnight. The following morning the resulting soured yogurt is strained through a coarse, mesh bag, loosing 60% of it's volume as the highly acidic whey is drained off. Maple syrup is added to the Skyr and it is then mixed to make it smooth.
Rich and Cynthia Larson have been working to breed their herd of cows with a specific gene that produce milk that is high in A2A2 beta caseins. The A2 protein is present in human, sheep and goat milk and there is some evidence that indicates milk from cows with the A2 protein is more easily digestible (read more about A2A2 beta caseins at the Larson Farm Website). Rich and Cynthia's daughter, Mercy, manages the dairy herd, and sister-in-law Lee manages the creamery making Larson Farm truly a family operation!
