Hræringur

Ingredients

Porridge

• 200 grolled oats
• 800 mlwater
• or 400 ml water and 400 ml milk
• 1/2 teaspoonsalt

To stir in

• 400 gskyr
• plain and unsweetened

To serve

• cold milk, to pour
• brown sugar
• or white sugar
• ground cinnamon, optional
• a knob of butter, optional

Directions

1. Let the porridge cool for a few minutes first. Warm rather than hot is what you want. Put the oats into a heavy pan. Add the water and the salt to them.
2. Bring it up to a gentle simmer. Stir it regularly as it cooks. Give it about fifteen minutes.
3. Make it slightly looser than you want it. Add water if it goes too thick. Take the pan off the heat entirely.
4. Let it stand for about five minutes. It should be warm rather than steaming. Add the skyr to the warm porridge. Stir it through thoroughly with a spoon.
5. Keep stirring until it is completely even. It should be smooth and pale throughout. Let the porridge cool more next time.
6. Taste it before it goes into the bowls. It should be gently tart from the skyr. Spoon it out into warm deep bowls.
7. Pour cold milk around the edge of each. Understanding the cold milk is worth a note. Scatter brown sugar generously over it. Brown sugar is the traditional choice. It keeps two days refrigerated.

Technique

• Skyr is often called a yoghurt but is technically a fresh cheese, made by culturing skimmed milk with rennet as well as cultures and then draining off the liquid, called mysa; it is very high in protein and almost fat free.
• Skyr was rich and precious while porridge was cheap and plentiful, so stirring the two together stretched the skyr and softened its sharpness, which was straightforward household economy.
• The porridge must be warm rather than hot when the skyr goes in, since skyr stirred into boiling porridge separates and goes grainy, and that cannot be fixed afterwards.

Substitutions

• Thick strained yoghurt stands in for skyr, though it is less sharp and higher in fat.
• Half water and half milk gives a richer porridge than water alone.

Variations

• The proportion of skyr to porridge varies from half and half to much more skyr.
• Some households add cinnamon or a knob of butter.
• Brown sugar is traditional though white sugar is used as well.

History

An Icelandic way of stretching skyr with porridge, once a standard farm breakfast.

Frequently asked questions

What is Hræringur?

Hræringur is a breakfast from Iceland: skyr stirred into oat porridge and eaten with milk and sugar. An Icelandic way of stretching skyr with porridge, once a standard farm breakfast.

How long does Hræringur take to make?

Hræringur takes 5 minutes of preparation and 20 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes serves 4. It is rated easy to make.

What can I substitute in Hræringur?

Yes, within limits. Thick strained yoghurt stands in for skyr, though it is less sharp and higher in fat. Half water and half milk gives a richer porridge than water alone.

What is the most important thing to get right in Hræringur?

Let the porridge cool for a few minutes first. Warm rather than hot is what you want. Put the oats into a heavy pan. Add the water and the salt to them.