Juustoleipä or Leipäjuusto, which is also known in English as Finnish squeaky cheese, is a fresh cheese

Cheese

Cheese is a generic term for a diverse group of milk-based food products. Cheese is produced throughout the world in wide-ranging flavors, textures, and forms....

 traditionally made from cow's beestings, rich milk from a cow that has recently calved. Reindeer

Reindeer

The reindeer , also known as the caribou in North America, is a deer from the Arctic and Subarctic, including both resident and migratory populations. While overall widespread and numerous, some of its subspecies are rare and one has already gone extinct.Reindeer vary considerably in color and size...

 or even goat

Goat

The domestic goat is a subspecies of goat domesticated from the wild goat of southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the Bovidae family and is closely related to the sheep as both are in the goat-antelope subfamily Caprinae. There are over three hundred distinct breeds of...

 milk can also be used. Commercially available versions are typically made from regular milk

Milk

Milk is a white liquid produced by the mammary glands of mammals. It is the primary source of nutrition for young mammals before they are able to digest other types of food. Early-lactation milk contains colostrum, which carries the mother's antibodies to the baby and can reduce the risk of many...

, and they lack some colour and flavour because of this. The cheese originally comes from Ostrobothnia

Ostrobothnia

Ostrobothnia refers to various areas in Finland:* Ostrobothnia , province of the kingdom of Sweden before 1809* Ostrobothnia , in modern Finland* Other regions in modern Finland:** Southern Ostrobothnia** Central Ostrobothnia...

, Northern Finland

Finland

Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...

 and Kainuu

Kainuu

Kainuu is a region of Finland. It borders the regions of Northern Ostrobothnia, North Karelia and Northern Savonia. In the east it also borders Russia. Kainuu is known in the ancient Norse sagas as Kvenland....

.

The milk is curd

Curd

Curds are a dairy product obtained by curdling milk with rennet or an edible acidic substance such as lemon juice or vinegar, and then draining off the liquid portion. The increased acidity causes the milk proteins to tangle into solid masses, or curds. The remaining liquid, which contains only...

led and set to form a round disk from two to three centimeters thick. After this, leipäjuusto is baked, grilled or flambéed to give it its distinctive brown or charred marks. In Ostrobothnia, leipäjuusto is called juustoleipä (lit. 'cheese bread'). However, this varies as people have moved around, and both names are used while leipäjuusto is the more commonly known name for this cheese. Other dialects have various names (such as narskujuusto) that refer to the way that fresh leipäjuusto "squeaks" against the teeth when bitten.

Traditionally, leipäjuusto was dried and could then be stored for up to several years. For eating, the dry, almost rock hard cheese was heated on a fire which softened it and produced an especially appetizing aroma. Even today, the cheese may be dried by keeping it in a well ventilated place for a few days. It has a quite mild flavour.

Servings

Leipäjuusto can be eaten warm or cold, and is served in a number of ways:

• Traditional way to serve it is as slices, as a side dish with coffee
  Coffee
  Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
  
  .
• A few pieces are placed in a cup, with hot coffee
  Coffee
  Coffee is a brewed beverage with a dark,init brooo acidic flavor prepared from the roasted seeds of the coffee plant, colloquially called coffee beans. The beans are found in coffee cherries, which grow on trees cultivated in over 70 countries, primarily in equatorial Latin America, Southeast Asia,...
  
   poured on. The Swedish name kaffeost ("coffee cheese") refers to this.
• Served as diamond-shaped pieces, roughly 5 to 7 cm long and a little less wide, with cloudberry
  Cloudberry
  Rubus chamaemorus is a rhizomatous herb native to alpine and arctic tundra and boreal forest, producing amber-colored edible fruit similar to the raspberry or blackberry...
  
   jelly or fresh cloudberries.
• Slices of the cheese are cut into a cup or plate, with some cream poured on the pieces so that they soak a little, some cinnamon and sugar sprinkled over it, and grilled in the oven for a moment. Served with cloudberry jelly.
• In modern Lappish cuisine diced leipäjuusto is often used as a mild replacement for feta
  Feta
  Feta is a brined curd cheese traditionally made in Greece. Feta is an aged crumbly cheese, commonly produced in blocks, and has a slightly grainy texture. It is used as a table cheese, as well as in salads Feta is a brined curd cheese traditionally made in Greece. Feta is an aged crumbly cheese,...
  
   in various salads.
• As a dessert, leipäjuusto can be served like Camembert
  Camembert
  Camembert is a commune in the Orne department in north-western France.It is most famous as the place where camembert cheese originated.Camembert has been called "The largest small village in France." This is because the area of the commune itself is out of proportion to the center of the village...
  
  , fried on a pan with butter until it softens, and served with jam, traditionally cloudberry
  Cloudberry
  Rubus chamaemorus is a rhizomatous herb native to alpine and arctic tundra and boreal forest, producing amber-colored edible fruit similar to the raspberry or blackberry...
  
  .