Cheesecake Cooking Styles




Once upon a time, when athletes in Ancient Greece



started competing in rigorous events at Olympic Games,



slices of cheesecakes were made, which basically



contained the three basic ingredients: cheese, wheat



flour and sweetener. They pounded all the ingredients



together until it attained a paste-like consistency.



They baked the mixture, cooled and served to provide



athletes with the energy they need to compete. This



was known as the birth of the cheesecake.





The Roman Empire then conquered Greece and acquired



the divine treat and spread it throughout Europe and



any territory they occupied. Since then, the basic



cheese, flour and sweetener, was replaced with



whatever ingredient native to the land that adopted



the cheesecake recipe. The usual white Greek cheese



was replaced by ricotta and mascarpone by the



Italians, Neufchatel by the French, quark cheese by



the Germans and cream cheese by the Americans.



Eventually, this monumental event in culinary history



paved the way for several different styles in creating



the cheesecake.





The European Cheesecake





The Europeans were the first to adopt the cheesecake



recipe. They were also the first to apply several



variations in the conventional cheesecake. There are



many countries that have also placed their own style



on creating cheesecakes and they include Italy,



France, United Kingdom, and New Zealand.





Firstly, the United Kingdom and New Zealand cheesecake



is similar. Their cheesecakes are generally cold



desserts that are neither baked nor cooked.



Cheesecakes from these countries are made with



crumbled digestive biscuits combined with butter and



pressed into a dish in order to form a base layer.



They used fillings or toppings, which mainly



constitute of sugar, cheese, cream, milk and gelatin



mixed together.





In Italy, there are two styles of cooking cheesecakes,



namely the Roman and Italian style. Roman style



cheesecakes use ricotta-like cheese and honey combined



with flour and traditionally shaped into loaves. There



are also other recipes that call for bay leaves, which



may have been used to preserve the treat. Nowadays,



Roman style cheesecakes are still baked in Italian



areas, which kept the culinary traditions alive after



the fall of Rome.





On the other hand, Italian style cheesecakes are the



modern versions of the Roman cheesecake. These



cheesecakes use either mascarpone or ricotta cheese



and replace honey with sugar. They also omitted the



use of bay leaves and added other new-age ingredients,



such as: barley flakes and vanilla extract. Typically,



this type of cheesecake is drier compared to American



style cheesecakes and often added with tiny bits of



candied fruit.





A very light cheesecake is the main description of



French cheesecakes. These cakes feature gelatin as the



main binding ingredient and are generally only 3 to 5



centimeters tall. This variety of cheesecake achieves



its light flavor and texture from the Neufchatel



cheese. More so, French cheesecakes are found outdoors



in markets at the South of France and fine pastry



stores in Paris.





The American Cheesecake





In America, cheesecakes typically rely on cream cheese



as an alternative to the French Neufchatel. One of the



most popular cheesecakes in America is the New York



style cheesecake. This was made famous by a deli and



relies on cream cheese, heavy cream, eggs, and egg



yolks in order to add a smooth consistency and



richness.





New York style cheesecakes are also known as Jewish



style and are baked in a specific 13 to 15 centimeter



tall spring form pan in several restaurants. There are



also other recipes of the cheesecake that use lemon



and cottage cheese for distinct flavor and texture.



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