Cream cheese: Uses, brands, tips

[enurmi]

You can keep your cream cheese and your cheesecake! Hate 'em both. And I'm glad to know I'm not the only one; people tend to give me odd looks when I mention it in public.

But it's funny, because I love most cheeses, but hate cream cheese/cheesecake, and I know someone who hates most cheeses, but loves cream cheese/cheesecake.

[Khadija]

As a kid, I always hated cream cheese (along with other white, creamy substances, such as sour cream and mayonaisse), and so I wouldn't eat cheesecake. At one point, I tried a chocolate cheesecake, and decided I liked chocolate cheesecake. Then I began to tolerate other cheesecakes. Somewhere along the line, I started liking cream cheese. Go figure.

[Gifted Gourmet]

I am a huge cream cheese fan .. made smoked salmon cornets last night filled with cream cheese, butter (for good mouthfeel), freshly ground black peppercorns, fleur du sel, and green onions .. it was definitely delicious next to the potato pancakes ....

[annecros]

I am a huge cream cheese fan .. made smoked salmon cornets last night filled with cream cheese, butter (for good mouthfeel), freshly ground black peppercorns, fleur du sel, and green onions .. it was definitely delicious next to the potato pancakes ....

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That is so pretty! Makes me want to snag one and scarf!

[Gifted Gourmet]

That is so pretty! Makes me want to snag one and scarf!

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and that was precisely what my guests did last night! I tried to divert their attention with a big plate of crispy latkes, but, alas, to no avail ...

[SweetSide]

Cream cheese is one of those things that are heaven sent (guess that's why they use the angels in those ads!). Those salmon cornets above have me drooling on my keyboard. Bagels with gobs of cream cheese -- YUM! Cheesecake -- be still my heart.

The one exception for me is chocolate cheesecake -- I just don't care for it much. I don't like the tang of the cheese with the chocolate.

[Gifted Gourmet]

The one exception for me is chocolate cheesecake -- I just don't care for it much.  I don't like the tang of the cheese with the chocolate.

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Ditto here .. never could enjoy that either .. I like the blandness of the cream cheese with a touch of vanilla and/or citrus ...

[annecros]

That is so pretty! Makes me want to snag one and scarf!

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and that was precisely what my guests did last night! I tried to divert their attention with a big plate of crispy latkes, but, alas, to no avail ...

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Well, with the latkes right there, I would have had to bust out the two handed scarf.

[juliachildish]

I have to agree...I really don't like cream cheese-occasionally I can tolerate it in small amounts, but large amounts make me kind of sick. And I will have a bite of cheesecake if it's offered, but I would never make it or buy it on my own. And I love almost all other cheeses-although I suppose I occasionally have issues with ricotta and mascarpone-but not as much as I do with cream cheese!

The one interesting exception for me is cream cheese dough-for rugelach, for example. I looooove that stuff and even eat it raw. I don't know why-maybe because it's masked by other things?

[lesfen]

Cream cheese. Ew. If you could see me trying to open a package of cream cheese, you would roll. It's hilarious. It's not easy to open those packages without:

a) touching the cream cheese

b) getting touched by the cream cheese, or worse yet, the cream cheese liquid that sometimes lurkes in the package

c) God forbid, smelling the cream cheese.

I do like cheese cake and there are a few cream cheese based items that my mom makes (cheese ball and a completely low brow "south of the border") that I can eat, but other than that I'm out.

[robyn]

I like cream cheese, especially on toasted bagels.  Conversely though, I'm not much of a cheesecake fan.  In the grocery store last week I actually saw some chocolate cream cheese, which I guess you'd use for chocolate cheese cake.  Lanctancia, (sp) who makes it, notes that it's a "seasonal" product only.

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Ditto. Especially whipped cream cheese on bagels.

Have you ever tried a real Italian cheesecake? I don't know what they make it with (I actually buy them at a local Italian bakery) - maybe ricotta cheese? Light as a feather (as opposed to the Cheesecake factory kind of stuff which is like eating lead sinkers). Robyn

[Jmahl]

I am a huge cream cheese fan .. made smoked salmon cornets last night filled with cream cheese, butter (for good mouthfeel), freshly ground black peppercorns, fleur du sel, and green onions .. it was definitely delicious next to the potato pancakes ....

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Dear Melissa:

How beautiful. Yes, creamcheese has its place. but sometimes I would prefer a cheese without the gum. Something like that white stuff you find in France or Italy.

But your plate looks GOOD.

Jmahl

[Mr. Delicious]

I as a kid was never big into cream cheese, mayo or sour cream, however i did always like cheesecake. Now I go through 60lbs a day and it doesnt bother me. Still wouldnt put any on a bagel or anything, just cheesecake and an occasional hors d' oeuvres. I also couldnt agree more on the cheesecake factory, it gives bad representation of cheesecake. One hell of a company, one bad cheesecake. I also agree that a simple cheesecake is better (I do like some wild ones, strawberry green peppercorn) but nothing tops a simple lemon.

[andiesenji]

I like cream cheese and I often make my own.

However, I really don't care for cheesecake. I usually make cheesecake with hoop cheese or farmer's cheese, AKA dry cottage cheese.

[Domestic Goddess]

If I do try to make my own cream cheese, is it ok to let the cheese drip out in my porch (it is screened but not heated)? I mean, with all the snow and ice, it will be sufficiently cold enough to let the curds drip there?

[Gifted Gourmet]

a) touching the cream cheese

b) getting touched by the cream cheese, or worse yet, the cream cheese liquid that sometimes lurkes in the package

c) God forbid, smelling the cream cheese. 

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I simply open the package (gingerly) and use a spatula to put the block into the food processor .. no need to touch, smell, or become "intimately connected" to the white blob ....

[Pan]

My problem with run-of-the-mill mass-produced cream cheese is that it's gummy. I hate gum in cream cheese and wish they abolished it! And gum SUCKS in a cheesecake!

[annecros]

If I do try to make my own cream cheese, is it ok to let the cheese drip out in my porch (it is screened but not heated)? I mean, with all the snow and ice, it will be sufficiently cold enough to let the curds drip there?

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I would think it would be fine as long as it is not cold enough to freeze the curds. That would be pretty gross.

I think some people do thier drying in the fridge. I do mine in the kitchen because it comes out cheesier.

[Domestic Goddess]

Thanks Anne!

It's not cold enough to freeze the curds... I'll be doing this later this week. Will post an update and pics.

[JaclynM]

A few weeks ago I went to a (demonstration) class on making Christmas candy. One of the recipes was for peppermint patties, which turned out to be very tasty. The ingredients are as follows:

filling:

8 oz cream cheese

4 cups confectioner's sugar

1 tbsp butter

1 tsp peppermint extract

outer chocolate:

12 oz melted semisweet chocolate

Someone in class asked if it was okay to leave these at room temperature after they are made, since they contain cream cheese. The instructor said that she "thought" it would be okay, but then joked that at her house, the treats are never around long enough to go bad.

I wanted to make these for my family's Christmas Eve party, but decided to do a trial run first, since my office had a "treat day" on Monday, which seemed like a good occasion to use. They turned out well, and I kept them in the fridge until I took them to work. At the office, they were sitting around at room temperature all day with the other treats, and when I took the leftovers home I was reluctant to keep them around, afraid that the cream cheese may have spoiled. So when I got home I threw the leftovers in the garbage.

When my husband (who had tried a patty that I left at home) remarked that the filling reminded him of frosting, it gave me an idea. My mother makes her own frosting using mainly butter and confectioner's sugar. Maybe I could make this recipe again using only butter instead of the cream cheese. I know some people who keep their butter out at room temperature most of the time with no problems.

So mainly, I have two questions: Would this recipe, made with the cream cheese, be okay to leave out at room temperature? If not, do you think that substituting butter would still make a good patty?

[cdh]

Cream cheese is very unlikely to kill you if it sits at room temperature for a day. Cream cheese spoilage is by growth of beasties that will change its flavor into more strong cheesiness... not anything that will make you sick.

Lots of cheeses that start out a lot like cream cheese age at 50-60F for weeks as a part of their maturation process.

[miladyinsanity]

I don't know how to do the calculations, but I think there's enough sugar in your confection to last anyway.

[annecros]

I've eaten a lot of cakes (Red Velvet and Carrot) that have cream cheese icing that sat out for a couple of days. Never even tasted off, in fact I sort of prefer it the next day.

[Sunny Simmons Steincamp]

Like a lot of things, homemade cream cheese is better, but spoils you for the times you run out of hours in a day to get it made in time for whatever it is you wanted to use it for!

My recipe is similar to annecros's... only I use a mixture of whole milk & heavy cream (in equal amounts,) buttermilk, and rennet. I also found, after making it with store-bought whole milk and "regular" (read: low or non-fat) buttermilk several times, that it is FAR superior made with fresh raw milk and full-fat buttermilk. Granted, most folks will probably have a really hard time coming by the former, but I'd definitely suggest trying to find the full-fat buttermilk even if you can't possibly hope to get the raw whole milk.

The only thing is, this doesn't keep well, or (sadly, in my experience) freeze terribly well, either. But it makes terrific cheesecakes and herbed or otherwise flavored spreads for a quick appetizer when there's a crowd. It tastes different enough from the stuff in the silver foil that such dips don't taste like you just stirred something into cream cheese, either! My favorite is to flake dry smoked salmon into the cheese and whip it up with some black pepper, then put on toasted bagel or pita bites and top with capers. MMmm. But... it works in any recipe I've found so far that calls for the gummier store-bought stuff.

[annecros]

Like a lot of things, homemade cream cheese is better, but spoils you for the times you run out of hours in a day to get it made in time for whatever it is you wanted to use it for!

My recipe is similar to annecros's... only I use a mixture of whole milk & heavy cream (in equal amounts,) buttermilk, and rennet.  I also found, after making it with store-bought whole milk and "regular" (read: low or non-fat) buttermilk several times, that it is FAR superior made with fresh raw milk and full-fat buttermilk.  Granted, most folks will probably have a really hard time coming by the former, but I'd definitely suggest trying to find the full-fat buttermilk even if you can't possibly hope to get the raw whole milk.

The only thing is, this doesn't keep well, or (sadly, in my experience) freeze terribly well, either.  But it makes terrific cheesecakes and herbed or otherwise flavored spreads for a quick appetizer when there's a crowd.  It tastes different enough from the stuff in the silver foil that such dips don't taste like you just stirred something into cream cheese, either!  My favorite is to flake dry smoked salmon into the cheese and whip it up with some black pepper, then put on toasted bagel or pita bites and top with capers. MMmm.  But... it works in any recipe I've found so far that calls for the gummier store-bought stuff.

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Tell me about it. I just put a gallon of buttermilk in the oven for cheesecake and my smoked salmon platter and a couple of other small things for Christmas. Definitely time consuming.

Do you utilize the whey? If so, how? I'm going to have quite a bit of it soon. Maybe for the liquid in my no-knead bread? Have you ever frozen it?