Cream Cheese

[Shel_B]

Have you tried:

http://www.nancysyogurt.com/nancys_products/cream_cheese.php

It's a favorite here, along with Gina Marie cream cheese made by Sierra Nevada Cheese Company (http://sierranevadacheese.com/)

If you like cream cheese, these are very good, made without fillers, gums, additives, stabilizers, and all that other stuff. Both are very different compared to Philly and other commercial cream cheese, and are different from each other as well. If you're used to Philly cream cheese, these may take some getting used to - maybe not.

shel

Edited August 22, 2008 by Shel_B (log)

[NVNVGirl]

Can you describe what the differences are amongst them? I'm not a big cream cheese fan, but my husband swears by Philly for his clam dip. And I've tried to get by with some reasonable facsimiles (cheaper) and they are very different tasting than his Philly and he won't use them . I wonder if these might make a nice flavor difference?

I'm interested b/c I'm also doing dog treats and dog cakes that use cream cheese for frosting and decoration....of course, I guess I'd have to do a tasting with the dogs as judges . As they aren't terribly discriminating, it might be hard.

[BarbaraY]

I have purchase cream cheese from the natural foods store and like it better than Philly. It was less gummy.

One thing for sure the store brand of cream cheese is horrid, awful, nasty stuff and will ruin a cheesecake.

[Shel_B]

Can you describe what the differences are amongst them? I'm not a big cream cheese fan, but my husband swears by Philly for his clam dip. And I've tried to get by with some reasonable facsimiles (cheaper) and they are very different tasting than his Philly and he won't use them . I wonder if these might make a nice flavor difference?

I'm interested b/c I'm also doing dog treats and dog cakes that use cream cheese for frosting and decoration....of course, I guess I'd have to do a tasting with the dogs as judges . As they aren't terribly discriminating, it might be hard.

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Both are lighter in texture, taste "fresher," spread easier when cold (that's probably because of the lack of gums, stabilizers, and other fillers), have a more pronounced taste of fresh cream. Nancy's is a little smoother than Gina Marie, and has a bit more tang to the taste. It reminds me a little of very thick Greek yogurt, but, of course, it's not.

I don't know how well they'd work in some recipes, like cheesecake, only because I don't bake and I assume most recipes are made for a Philly type cheese. However, they are great in dips, with the morning bagel, spread on any bread or cracker, and are a joy to enjoy in any uncooked dish. I bet they'd be fine in cheesecake, etc., but I don't have experience with that.

I bet either would add a little something extra to a clam dip

FWIW, my cat LOVES Gina Marie and won't touch Philly. He's not tried Nancy's yet.

Best advice I can give you is to try a little of each. As I may have said, if you're used to Philly-type cream cheese, these will be different. For me it was easy to make the change - one taste of Gina Marie and I was hooked! If you try 'em, please tell us how you likee 'em.

scb

[Chris Hennes]

Has anyone tried making their own cream cheese? Have a recipe to share?

[OliverB]

there are 3 different recipes in the book Home Cheese Making by Ricki Carrol. Cream cheese cooked-curd method, French style and Swiss style cream cheese. All use mesophilic starter and liquid rennet. All pretty straight forward. It's a great book and she also sells all the things you need to make cheese at www.chesemaking.com

I have not made cream cheese yet, looks like they all need to be made at least a day before you want to use it. I've made great mozarella with her recipe and supplies.

I rarely use cream cheese, but I'm sure I'll try to make some eventually. Cheese making is fun :-)

[andiesenji]

I've been making my own cream cheese for many years. You can't get a successful result with supermarket "ultra-pasteurized" milk without the addition of a product available at cheesemaking supply vendors.

I buy mostly from New England Cheesemaking Supply http://www.cheesemaking.com/ and they have excellent instructions and help - note the section

"Milk Help" - -

You need to add calcium chloride - not much - it comes in a small bottle, is a liquid and is specifically formulated to produce the desired results.

You can gauge the consistency you want and get a firmer, denser product by pressing the curd - you don't need anything fancy, a plastic strainer, lined with several layers of the gauze-like cheesecloth (wash it first in hot water) or better, the real cheesecloth or butter muslin that is made specifically for cheesemaking. The latter can be laundered and used over and over again. Otherwise, buy unbleached medium muslin at a fabric store, wash it at least twice to remove the sizing and cut it to a workable size. It works just fine and is cheap.

Edited September 18, 2009 by andiesenji (log)