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Cheese from Finland

Leipäjuusto / juustoleipä (squeaky cheese)leipäjuusto

Leipäjuusto is a boundary entry with little or no fermentation. Warm pasteurised milk is set with rennet and salt, the curd is drained and pressed into a flat sheet 0.5–3 cm thick, and the sheet is baked or grilled until spotted brown on both sides. It is eaten fresh, squeaky and mild, often with cloudberry jam.

Fully documentedCheese2.7 hFinnish PGI applications for Pohjalainen leipäjuusto and Kainuun juustoleipäFamily: Acid-heat set cheese family (FERMENTATION BOUNDARY)

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe Finnish texts give no amounts; the salt and calcium chloride doses come from one US pilot make with 136 kg of milk (Lindstrom and Sharma 2025).
Pasteurised milkFinnish cow, goat or reindeer milk[pgi-pohjalainen][pgi-kainuu]
Rennet[pgi-pohjalainen][pgi-kainuu]
Salt0.33 % of the curd weight in one US make[pgi-pohjalainen][lindstrom2025]
Calcium chloride0.04 % of a 32 % solution in one US make[lindstrom2025]

Total time across the recorded steps: 2.7 h

Start
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37 °C

What changes: Salt and rennet go into warm pasteurised milk and it sets

Step 1 of 5
Warm the milk and add salt and rennet
Time
30 min
Reported
Temperature
37 °C
Reported
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

Output: curd.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
gel
Colour
white

Microbes at work in this step

none needed; rennet sets the milk

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Leipäjuusto is a boundary entry with little or no fermentation. Warm pasteurised milk is set with rennet and salt, the curd is drained and pressed into a flat sheet 0.5–3 cm thick, and the sheet is baked or grilled until spotted brown on both sides. It is eaten fresh, squeaky and mild, often with cloudberry jam. Made in 5 steps over 2.7 h. The longest step, press into a flat sheet, takes 1.5 h (Lindstrom R 2025).

Key numbers
Main step1.5 hReported[lindstrom2025]Press into a flat sheet
Temperature37 °CReported[lindstrom2025]Warm the milk and add salt and rennet
AciditypH 6.6Measured[lindstrom2025]Cool and pack

What makes this one different

Leipäjuusto is a fresh rennet curd that is baked, not ripened, so it is a boundary entry. Its high pH (about 6.6) and added calcium keep it from melting, like halloumi. Paneer is set by acid, not rennet.

Milk
Pasteurised cow, goat or reindeer milk (Finnish PGI texts)
Ripening
Fresh; ready to eat straight after baking
pH
About 6.6 in one US make; it does not melt when heated

Related ferments

Variants

  • Pohjalainen leipäjuustoOstrobothnian bread cheese (PGI application).
  • Kainuun juustoleipäKainuu bread cheese (PGI application).
  • Dried leipäjuustoOnce dried rock-hard and stored among rye grain, then softened over embers or in coffee.

Safety

Both Finnish application texts name pasteurised milk and say the cheese is packed straight after baking and cooling. In the one US make the milk was pasteurised at 73 °C for 15 s, the baked cheese was aimed at 82 °C inside, and it was vacuum-sealed and stored at 4 °C.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

The Kainuu application says it was once made on nearly every farm there and that Kainuun Osuusmeijeri began industrial production in the 1960s. The Ostrobothnian PGI text quotes a 1928 Emäntälehti saying Christmas there did not feel like Christmas without leipäjuusto, and describes it as a festive food for feasts and work parties.

Starter
The sources we found do not say how its fermentation begins.
Microbes
No study we found names its microbes.
  1. [pgi-pohjalainen] Ruokavirasto (Finnish Food Authority), Yhtenäinen asiakirja "Pohjalainen leipäjuusto" (draft PGI single document, EU number not yet assigned)other
  2. [pgi-kainuu] Ruokavirasto (Finnish Food Authority), Nimisuojahakemus "Kainuun juustoleipä / Kainuulainen juustoleipä" (PGI application)other
  3. [lindstrom2025] Lindstrom R., Sharma P. 2025, Determination of insoluble calcium content in Cheddar, feta, Juustoleipa, and mozzarella cheeses using acid-base buffering curves, JDS Communications, doi:10.3168/jdsc.2024-0561paper