The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #31414   Message #411764
Posted By: Deckman
05-Mar-01 - 11:56 PM
Thread Name: Happy Kalevala Day
Subject: RE: Happy Kalevala Day
About "Villia." My memeory says there are something like 26 dialects of Finnish, all in a country the size of Western Washington and Western Oregon combined. This means that there are many different spellings to this wonderful food/drink. The next most common spelling is villi. I was raised on it. It's a 'clabbered' milk product, that requires a 'starter.' You add the milk, most any kind, to the starter, place it covered in a warm place for about three days. No, it's NOT yogurt. My Father's american nickname for it was 'string milk.' This was because of its ability to hold a three foot string of goo when lifted from the pot. I know it sounds awful, but believe me, it's "nector of the gods." It's very hard to find a good starter. My Grandmother's starter came with her from Finland, and I know it thrived for over 80 years. There are some serious communities of Finnlanders in America, like in Hancock, Minn. (Mich. ?) I suspect that villia starters are availble there, but I have no contacts ... I welcome the information. Years ago, I had the pleasure (honor) of meeting a Finnish immigrant when he was in his 80's. He's been a Northwest logger all his life, and NEVER spoke English. As I got to know him, I gave him some villia. He cried when he saw it, drank it down to the last drop, and asked for more. I reminded him that he needed to save some in order to replenish the pot. As he cried, he told me that he hadn't tasted it since he'd left home at age 15. That's VILLIA! CHEERS, Bob