By far the largest quantities of milk and milk products are from cow’s milk nowadays. But ever since the settlement goat’s milk has also been used and is now experiencing a revival. In olden times fermented butter was an Icelandic specialty but this has completely disappeared. As quite a lot of butter was being produced already in early times, rent was usually paid or at least calculated in butter. The settlers brought their cheese-making skills with them to Iceland; this tradition, however, gradually almost disappeared, but has returned in recent years. The reason for this lapse is probably that skyr was thought to be more economical to produce than cheese. Skyr is an Icelandic specialty that has been made since the settlement. The milk – usually skimmed – is curdled with bacterial cultures and rennet.
