I am sure that I am not alone in finding that whenever I return from an unforgettable holiday, I like to try and hold onto it just a little bit longer. Sometimes this means I’ll be wearing the same touristy tee and drinking from a new ‘I heart (insert country here)’ mug for days on end. But more often I like to try to recreate some of the dishes and flavours that I enjoyed eating while away. Almost unconsciously my usual shopping list changes and I find myself filling my supermarket trolley with familiar holiday ingredients. Which explains why since recently returning from Iceland – the country, not the supermarket – I can’t seem to stop reaching for some skyr.

If you haven’t heard of skyr, think of it as yoghurt 2.0. It’s like eating a spoonful of extremely thick, creamy, dairy lusciousness. Skyr has literally been a part of the Icelandic diet for centuries because the Vikings used to routinely pack it into their picnics on their long travels. They brought it with them to Iceland in the very first settlements, all the way back in 874. It has been eaten there ever since and though skyr has gone up and down in popularity over time, recently there has been another resurgence. Skyr is traditionally made from skimmed milk and has live cultures and rennet added. It is then fermented, cooled and strained. The resulting skyr is very thick but fat-free, full of probiotics and high in protein. The addition of rennet (whether it’s animal-based or plant-based) makes skyr technically a type of cheese rather than a kind of yoghurt.

In Iceland, skyr is commonly eaten at breakfast with fruit and granola or oatmeal and it is used in cooking and baking as you would normally use yoghurt. It is also eaten as an accompaniment to main dishes like fish or meat or used as a dip for crackers, vegetables or fruit. Even though skyr is so versatile, outside of Iceland most people still treat it as a breakfast food or snack.

It’s probably not surprising that skyr has been embraced by gym goers, Hyrox followers and exercise enthusiasts, alike. Because like all things high in protein, they will eat just about anything to get marginal gains. With most brands sporting almost 15g protein per pot, skyr’s popularity has bypassed Greek yoghurt and hipster favourite, kefir. It now sits firmly at the top of the yoghurty protein podium in the UK and fortunately for me this means that skyr is now also widely available. Arla has been producing a range of skyr for some years but as demand has gone up more yoghurt manufacturers and supermarkets are beginning to enter the ring. Danone has recently launched their new line of pots and introduced drinks which both come with depictions of smiling skyr-wielding Vikings.

And as I browsed the supermarket shelves the other day for skyr it looked like I was spoiled for choice. But upon closer inspection I realised that all was not what it seemed. Some of the skyr looked decidedly different from anything I had seen in Iceland and it was hard to believe that it was what the Vikings had in mind. Unbelievably, it turns out that ‘skyr’ is not a protected title in the UK and therefore, there is no fixed production method. In other words, manufacturers can produce their skyr very differently but they can still sell it under the same name. Of course, for the consumer this is somewhat problematic because this means that not just the product but the nutritional benefits will vary considerably.  

In Iceland, skyr is well-known as a healthy food staple and it is heavily promoted as such. After all, the Vikings founded Iceland by being fuelled on this superfood so it hardly needs any further endorsement. Skyr is indeed very nutritious and easily ticks off all of the trendy health boxes. Primarily, its 3 simple ingredients produce something that is fat-free and contains high amounts of protein and nutrients including calcium and B-vitamins. To top it off, it is full of gut-friendly probiotics.

However, outside of Iceland you can produce something that is only skyr-y-like and still trade off of its healthy Viking image. Unfortunately some of the pots and drinks of skyr on the shelves are far closer to being very basic yoghurts and contain untraditional ingredients including thickeners and bulking agents. Not to mention, many of the flavoured versions of skyr also contain high amounts of added sugar. So far from being a great new addition to a healthy diet some of them are not much better than readymade puddings.

Which means that for Iceland aficionados and devotees of protein it’s always important to look beyond the name of a product. Skyr may be having its moment but clearly not all skyr is the same. So instead of being distracted by the healthy looking labels always read the ingredients lists of what you buy. There are definitely some great new products out there promising big things but it’s always better to know your skyr from the skyr-y imposters. The simple rule to follow is that if the skyr contains ingredients that don’t belong, you don’t recognise or has a lot of added sugar then it’s probably not something the Vikings would have eaten. Just leave it on the shelf. Because you can’t fuel yourself up with unhealthy food and expect to train hard, let alone try to build a country from scratch.

Fortunately for me, it is still possible to find the real thing among the rest so I can continue to eat skyr while reminiscing about my holiday. At least I wasn’t tempted while there to try Hákarl, one of Iceland’s national dishes because it would have been more of a challenge to source once home again. Although you never know what will become the next big thing so maybe one day fermented shark will also have its moment. I have to admit I am unaware of its protein profile but in the meantime, I will keep enjoying my skyr.

One way to enjoy skyr is to pair it with salmon so try this Smoked salmon with skyr green goddess dressing. It makes an easy lunch and a great post-workout meal for those times when you’ve trained as hard as a Viking.