Finland Food: Piimähyytelö - Buttermilk Pudding

Despite my (seasonal) complaints about hospital canteens, sometimes the canteen at Meilahti Hospital takes me by surprise - in a positive way :D This time it introduced me to a completely new dessert. I've never before even heard about buttermilk pudding (piimähyytelö). I saw it printed on the weekly menu and started wondering how it would taste. Some days later I could finally taste it and it was really good actually! Though I had to change lanes as it was nearly finished on two lanes and the new batch they brought from the kitchen hadn't had enough time to set so it wasn't  really a pudding but more like a watery custard... Luckily there was a lane where the pudding had had time to set, so I went to queue there.

It was served with raspberry compote, which was so yummy too :) As it's a hospital canteen, all ingredients are listed (and the calory contents too), so I memorized them (quark, buttermilk, sugar, vanilla sugar, lemon juice and gelatine). After some googling I found a recipe which didn't have any quark, but what I liked about it, was the whipping part :D I've previously done some puddings which are whipped after adding the gelatine and letting it set a while, and liked the results. 

And on the next day I sadly discovered it wasn't exactly similar to the canteen's: It tasted more strongly of buttermilk, and the consistency was different (because of the whisking, I'd guess). So I went to the canteen to kindly ask for the recipe. But they said they can't give it!!! (Of course I understand some restaurant recipes are secret, but those of canteens...). Couldn't believe it... Maybe I'll enroll their buttermilk pudding in those food magazine "ask a restaurant for a recipe" series :D And how come they didn't want their 15 seconds' fame via my blog (lol). But anyway they were kind enough to give me the ingredients list (which I had already memorized the previous day, (essence of) vanilla sugar and lemon juice being vice versa). And this is what I created from it:

Buttermilk Pudding

for 2

100 g low-fat quark (maitorahka)
100 ml buttermilk (you can play a little with the relations: next time I'll try 70 g quark and 130 ml buttermilk)
20 g sugar, or to taste
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
scant 1 tsp powdered gelatine
0,5-1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp water


to serve with:
berries / compote

Put 1 Tbsp cold water and the lemon juice to a small pot. Sprinkle the gelatin over. Let stand for 5-10 minutes. Meanwhile, mix quark, buttermilk, sugar and vanilla. Heat the gelatine gently, stirring until dissolved. Add it to the buttermilk mixture while whisking(*). Pour into individual cups or serving dish and refrigerate for a minimum of 1-2 hours. Serve with berries or compote.

Inspired by Ravioli Meilahti.

A fluffier version with buttermilk only

200 ml fat-free buttermilk
1-2 Tbsp sugar
scant 1 tsp gelatine
0,5-1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp water
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Proceed as above until *. Refrigerate for 10-15 minutes to let it thicken slightly. Whisk with an electric mixer for 5-10 minutes until the mixture starts to get fluffy. Before it sets completely, move it to individual serving cups and let set for about 1 hour in the fridge. Serve with berries or compote.

 Adapted from http://ruoka.fi/reseptit/puolukka-piimahyytelo

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