Messmör

Ingredients

Whey

• 4 litresfresh whey, from cheesemaking
• 100 mldouble cream, optional
• ½ tspsalt

To serve

• crispbread or knäckebröd
• butter

Directions

1. Use the whey the same day it is drained. Whey sours fast, and a sour whey makes a bitter messmör.
2. Pour it into a wide heavy pan — wide matters, because the whole process is evaporation and a narrow pan takes twice as long.
3. Boil steadily, skimming off any curd flecks that rise in the first 20 minutes.
4. Keep boiling for two to three hours until the volume has dropped by about nine-tenths and the liquid is thick, tan and glossy.
5. From here on stir constantly and drop the heat. The sugars are concentrated enough to catch, and once messmör scorches on the bottom the whole batch tastes burnt — there is no recovering it.
6. Stir in the cream if using and continue until it is the thickness of soft caramel and drops thickly from the spoon.
7. Take it off the heat and beat in the salt, then keep beating as it cools for five minutes. Beating during cooling is what makes it spreadable rather than grainy.
8. Pot it and refrigerate. It keeps a month and thickens further when cold.
9. Spread on buttered crispbread. The taste is caramel and salt at once, which is the whole appeal.

Technique

• Wide pan, fresh whey, constant stirring at the end.
• One scorch ruins the batch. Drop the heat before you think you need to.
• Beat it as it cools.

Substitutions

• Goat’s whey for a sharper spread, which is the Norwegian preference.
• Bought whey powder reconstituted, though the result is flatter.
• Boiled further and pressed into a block, which gives mesost rather than messmör.

Variations

• Norwegian brunost and prim are the block and spread versions of the same reduction.
• Stirred into porridge, or thinned with cream as a sauce for game.

History

Made by boiling down whey left from cheesemaking, the spreadable relative of Norwegian brunost.

Frequently asked questions

What is Messmör?

Messmör is a cheese & dairy from Sweden: soft caramelised whey spread, sweet and salty on crispbread. Made by boiling down whey left from cheesemaking, the spreadable relative of Norwegian brunost.

How long does Messmör take to make?

Messmör takes 10 min of preparation and 3 to 4 hours of cooking. The recipe makes makes about 400 g. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Messmör?

Yes, within limits. Goat’s whey for a sharper spread, which is the Norwegian preference. Bought whey powder reconstituted, though the result is flatter. Boiled further and pressed into a block, which gives mesost rather than messmör.

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

Pour it into a wide heavy pan — wide matters, because the whole process is evaporation and a narrow pan takes twice as long.