Despite the tangy, yogurt-like taste, skyr is technically a soft cheese, made by straining cultured skim milk until most of the whey is gone.
Cultured skim milk is strained until it thickens into a dense, tangy, almost fat-free curd, then served plain or stirred with fresh berries, cream, and a drizzle of syrup. Reykjavik cafés and grab-and-go kiosks sell it in cups as a quick breakfast or afternoon snack.
Why it's made this way: Icelandic settlers brought skyr-making techniques from Norway over a thousand years ago, and Reykjavik's modern café scene has kept it as a daily staple rather than letting it fade into just a farmhouse food.
Roughly what's in it
120kcal
18gprotein
10gcarbs
0gfat
Estimated per typical street-vendor portion — not lab-tested.