All About the Cheese in the Cheesecake




What makes cheesecakes adaptable to any culinary style



is their cheese. Back in Ancient Greece, every market



sold cheeses to those who cannot make their own. By



the time the fourth century B.C. came, the most



accepted white Greek cheeses were being seasoned with



spices and baked into a manner similar to pies and



cakes. Even the Romans, during the height of their



power, used a great deal of cheese in their cooking.



They preserved cheese using a salt-based sauce and



provided the recipe for the celebration of the wedding



cake, which still contain cheese as the main



ingredient.





The Americans and Their Cream Cheese





A soft, mild-tasting, sweet, white cheese is the cream



cheese. Generally, cream cheese contains at least 33



percent milk fat and a moisture content of not more



than 55 percent and a pH level ranging from 4.4 to



4.9. Cream cheese is not usually matured and is meant



to be consumed fresh. This makes it diverse from other



supple cheeses, like the Neufchatel and the Europe’s



Brie. The taste, production and texture of the cream



cheese are more comparable to that of the Mascarpone



and Boursin.





Cream cheese was known to originate in the United



States during the year 1872. In Chester, New York, a



dairyman developed a richer cheese made from whole



milk and cream. During the year 1880, A.L. Reynolds,



one of the cheese distributors in New York, first



began issuing cream cheese, which was then covered in



tin-foil wrappers, called the Philadelphia Brand.



Hence, the name Philadelphia Brand cream cheese was



adopted by the Reynolds for the product since, at that



time, the quality of food products were related with



the city where it originated.





It was not until 1912, when James L. Kraft created the



pasteurized cheese. This invention eventually led to



the improvement of the pasteurized Philadelphia Brand



cream cheese, which is not the most fashionable cheese



used in making cheesecakes.





The French and Their Neufchatel





While the Americans like to use cream cheeses for



their cheesecakes, the French used Neufchatel cheese



in their own culinary style of creating cheesecakes.



Neufchatel is a flavorful cheese that provides



cheesecakes with a light and airy texture and



eventually became the basis of the modern American



cheesecake.





The French Neufchatel is slightly crumbly, soft and



mould-ripened made in the region of Normandy. It was



one of the oldest cheeses in France with production



dating back as far as the 6th century. Neufchatel



cheese is somewhat similar to camembert in appearance,



with a white, dry and edible rind, but with a sharper



and saltier taste.





Additionally, Neufchatel cheese has the aroma and



taste of mushrooms. What makes this cheese different



is that unlike other cheeses with soft and white



rinds, Neufchatel cheese has a grainy texture.





Although, Neufchatel has been less popular after the



World War II, several cheesecake recipes still use the



cheese. In fact, there are also Americans who likes to



use Neufchatel instead of cream cheese when making



cheesecakes, which they can purchase at several



gourmet shops.





The Italians and Their Ricotta





When the Italian adopted the cheesecake recipe, they



used ricotta cheese to make their cheesecake a little



drier.





Ricotta cheese is a whey cheese made in Italy. It uses



whey, which is a limpid, low-fat and nutritious liquid



that is the by-product of cheese production. In its



basic form, ricotta is also an un-ripened and uncooked



curd, which is normally un-drained of its whey. It has



a fresh, creamy and grainy white appearance, slightly



sweet in taste and usually contains around 5% fat.



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