Viili Starter
$2.99 – $30.99
Our Viili starter makes a traditional Viili with mild, nutty, cheese-like taste and a thick and stretchy viscous consistency.
This is an authentic Viili heirloom starter. Each pack contains loose powder mix, in perfect proportions, of the strains required to make the perfect Viili.
Viili is a mesophilic fermented milk product coming from Finland, which resembles yogurt. Viili is the result of the action of lactic acid bacteria and yeasts, which work together to form a velvet-like surface and a rich smooth consistency of the Viili. The name comes from a byproduct from the actions of the strains, a phosphate-containing heteropolysaccharide, called viilian. Viilian is similar to kefiran produced by kefir strains. Viili has been a cornerstone of the Finnish diet for and is a super-food with multiple health benefits. It has, in recent years, gained a world popularity much similar to Bulgarian yogurt.
Viili comes in three forms — short, long and the original. The short version has a consistency similar to commercial yogurt with a mild taste. The long version has a ropy, or stringy, consistency that stretches much like honey. Traditional viili has a slimy ropy consistency and is mildly nutty in taste. Our Viili is the traditional type.
Our Viili starter makes genuine Scandinavian Viili of exceptional quality with classic Viili taste, thickness and aroma. Classic Viili has a mild, nutty, cheese-like taste and a viscous ropy and stretchy consistency — the perfect balance between slimy and creamy — a distinguishing characteristic of the traditional Viili.
This is a heirloom Viili starter with live active bacteria, which means that you can reuse Viili from your previous batch to culture your new batch, for as long as you wish.
The starter contains lactic acid cultures isolated from natural sources in ecologically preserved areas in Finland and Bulgaria. It is fully natural and organic with no preservatives, additives, artificial colors or flavors. It contains no GMO ingredients and it is soy and gluten free. Halal. Kosher.
Ingredients
Live active lactic acid cultures of Lactobacillus Bulgaricus and Streptococcus Thermophilus, Lactobacillus Casei, Lactobacillus Kefir, and Lactococcus Helveticus.
Storage
Store the Viili starter packs in the FREEZER.
Use by the date indicated on the label.
The starter packs have 2 years of shelf live. Use by the date indicated on the label.
See more storage instructions on the Finnish Viili Starter product information page.
Product Information
Additional product information is available below and on the Finnish Viili Starter product information page.
| Ingredients | Lactobacillus Casei, Lactobacillus kefir, Lactococcus helveticus, Lactobacillus Bulgaricus, Streptococcus Thermophilus |
|---|---|
| Starter Strength | > 25 billion CFU/g, 100% potency guaranteed |
| Starter Type | Heirloom Viili Starter |
| Details | 100% natural, No additives, No preservatives, Gluten free, Soy free, GMO free, Halal, Kosher |
| Origin | Made in Bulgaria, Original Finnish recipe |
| Shelf Life | 2+ years at -15 C (in the freezer), 1-2 years at 4 C (in the fridge), Up to 1 year at ambient temperature |
| Storage | Store in FREEZER |
| Milk Type To Use With | Dairy milk OK, Non-dairy milk OK, Vegan milk OK, Excellent for yogurt drinks, Excellent for frozen yogurts too |
Ingredients
Freeze-dried live active lactic acid cultures — Lactobacillus Bulgaricus and Streptococcus Thermophilus, Lactobacillus Casei, Lactobacillus Kefir, and Lactococcus Helveticus.
The starter contains nothing more than the strains it is made of and a very small quantity of dried organic skim milk powder. It is the medium on which the strains grow and some of it gets packaged together with them. The milk powder is completely consumed by the bacteria during incubation so there is none of it in the finished product. See some more information about our lactose free and vegan starters.
The starter is fully natural and organic with no preservatives, additives, artificial colors or flavors. It contains no GMO ingredients. It is soy, nuts, and gluten free.
Activity and Strength
1 gram of starter contains at least 25 billion colony-forming unit (2.5 x 1010 CFU/g) of lactic acid probiotic bacteria strains.
100% potency guaranteed. 100% viability guaranteed.
Contents
This is an heirloom starter with freeze-dried live active bacteria.
Each sachet contains loose powder mix, in perfect proportions, of the strains required to make excellent Scandinavian Viili.
The exact amount of starter varies per pack and is indicated, in grams, under your selected pack size on the product purchase page.
More information about various pack sizes and their contents can be found here.
Viili Making Instructions
It is super easy to make Finnish Viili using our Bacillus Bulgaricus starter. We have included two sets of instructions how to make Viili:
- The traditional method for making Scandinavian Viili – if you prefer to make your Viili the conventional way, manually or with the help of a yogurt-making machine.
- A fail proof method for making Sandinavian Viili – if you have difficulties getting good results with the traditional method or would like to get your results faster, try this fail-proof manual method instead.
How to make Viili instructions.
Why get the Bacillus Bulgaricus Viili Starter
You should buy this Viili starter if you are looking for a no-fuss Viili starter which is easy to use, performs consistently and reliably and makes absolutely delicious Finnish Viili.
When you make your own Viili you are in control of all the ingredients so you know what you are putting in your body. Scandinavian Viili made with Bacillus Bulgaricus starters is full of gut-healthy probiotics that are great for your health. Our Viili starter is heirloom which means that you can make endless batches of Viili saving a ton of money while eating healthy – an absolute win-win!
Read this long list of reasons why our starters are good for you.
Usage
The packs are packaged and labeled with the grams they contain and the volume those grams make when used entirely in one go.
The packs are intended for single use, or their contents could be split for multiple use (with the exception of the Sourdough starter which should always be used in one go).
When you split the pack, take out as much as you need to make your yogurt, then reseal and refreeze the remaining starter for later. Make sure you store the sachets in a way that prevents moisture from getting in, i.e. well closed in a Ziploc bag or wrapped around and fastened with a rubber band.
When you split the contents of the pack and use less starter amount to make smaller volumes, keep in mind that you are also reducing the total amount of yogurt that you can make from the pack (read more on that here). Refer to this page to see the gram to Liters (gallons) chart and to find out how much starter to use for different volumes of milk.
Help
Bacillus Bulgaricus starters are easy to use and are strong enough to make sure that the fermentation process completes naturally and smoothly, under the right conditions.
If you ever need help with using our products or troubleshooting your fermentation method, simply contact us with any questions and we’ll be happy to help.
You can also fill out this help form and we’ll get back to you in no time.
FAQs
If you’d rather read than write us an email, then check out this list of frequently asked questions and answers and Help and How-To articles for some more helpful information.
Nutritional Facts
427 reviews for Viili Starter
Add a review
Related products
Subscriptions
This is a Bulgarian Yogurt Starter subscription. You will get one DOUBLE 4 L / 1 gal pack once a month.
Sirene
Our Bulgarian Sirene starter makes a traditional Bulgarian hard white cheese with unique taste and the most delicious aroma you can imagine.
Kefir
Our Kefir starter makes a mild, thick, creamy and absolutely delicious kefir. So good, that you would want to make it again and again.
Deals & Combos
Get 4x DOUBLE – 4 L / 1 gal packs for the price of three! That's a month's supply of yogurt! This is the perfect combo if you make yogurt once a week!
Jia –
Ivo,
I finally got my starter yesterday! Made activation of villi right away and this is the result after 19 hours. I’m so excited to make another new batch!
Thank you!
Jia Lih
Lidia Del Grande –
I liked all the starters, above all the Bulgarian yogurt, only the Villi turned out unsuccessful. Maybe the yogurt maker was too hot for it.
Best regards
Lidia Del Grande
Leah –
That is so nice that you reach out! I feel terrible though… I placed my order at the wrong time.. I received it near Christmas time and my daughters wedding and all of my children and their families were home. Long story short I left the package with the mail to be looked at at a later date☹️. I didn’t put it in the freezer! But I will be ordering again because I’m very excited to try both things I ordered. I did put it in my freezer after I realized and was going to try it anyway cause I don’t like wasting.
Taima –
Hello Ivo,
My reason for ordering: need to get back a healthy microbiome to help my immune system.
Antibiotics helped me survive, but totally wrecked my gut bacteria.
Also I found your selection of cultures very appealing. I already had viili and the others before.
Skyr I find ideal for making high protein, healthy food.
The others I just like them for the unique taste sensation and the various microbes they share with me 🙂
You have lots of excellent information on your website and I will be coming back for other cultures.
I am in the Australian bush here and only get powdered milk and temperature inside my house get up to 38-40 deg C. in summer, so I need cooling stations then.
Limited space for that.
Best wishes!
Taima
Bernard –
I tried some of the Viili starter yesterday.
It did not harden after ten hours at room temperature.
So I put it into my yogurt maker for 8 hours, which has low heat.
That did work.
Bernard
Minh –
Hello Ivo,
I actually do not like yogurt very much. However, after I learned about mesophilic yogurt, viili in particular, I became interested in having experiencing with it.
Before I knew your site, I purchased filmjölk starter from Yemoos. It tasted all right, but it did not culture soy milk very well. I put mesophilic yogurt on hold thinking I need a starter that can work with soy milk in the long run if I want to continue eating this way.
Then I found your company. I hope the viili culture I just purchased would work for soy milk as one of the reviewers stated.
Thank you
Minh
Beixi –
Hi Ivo,
I love Yogurt and want to try Viili.
Thank you
Beixi