Cream Cheese

What is cream cheese?

Like thick clouds stretching across blue skies, cream cheese covers your palate in a mild and decadent motion. Enjoyed fresh, the flavours are soft and creamy with a soothing balance of slightly acidic undertones to compensate. With a more pliable consistency than French fresh cheese, being less runny and mushy, its creamy texture lends itself to being served plain atop bread or beside fresh fruit, vegetables and pasta.

Originally created in England, cream cheese was quick to rise in popularity, with dairy farms near Philadelphia and New York quickly introducing the cheese to a broader audience. Made using milk from cows, it is often blended with aromatic herbs and garlic, providing a piquancy to its milder character.

A divine blend of versatility in taste and texture, cream cheese presents a balanced character, perfect for deserts and warm dishes alike.

How cream cheese is made

Dairy farms produce their cream cheese using a wide range of different methods, depending on each variant. Natural cream cheese delights with full-bodied flavours and clean ingredients.

After receiving fresh milk from cows grazing on nearby pastures, creameries quickly begin production by adding natural starter cultures to the milk. This helps it to coagulate and eventually produce a firm curd. Once fully formed, it is filtered and salted, enhancing both taste and texture. Acting as a natural preservative, the separated curd is heated, allowing it to stay fresh and extending its shelf life without the use of artificial stabilisers or additives. After extensive exposure to heat, it is then pressed and filtered to produce its creamy and smooth texture. Depending on the variant, herbs and seasoning are added before it is packaged and cooled, ready for the shops.

Containing no traces of rennet, fresh cream cheese is vegetarian and gluten free, guaranteeing a profile of clean flavour. Variants using either pasteurised or raw milk offer different levels of tartness and intensity in taste.

Substitutes for cream cheese

It is essential to consider the great versatility of cream cheese when looking to substitute it with something else. One cheese might not be suited to desserts, while others could lack the right amount of acidity needed for a warm dish.

Often found in sweet and savoury desserts, Mascarpone is smooth, creamy and incredibly rich. The flavours are mild with a sweet and slightly tangy aftertaste to finish. It stands in glowing contrast when paired with zesty berries and fruit and provides depth and texture to soups and pasta dishes.

Cottage cheese is also a fresh cheese; although less sweet, it shares its mild flavour and creamy texture. Enjoy it with berries, let it add flavour to pastry or combine it with vegetables and fresh fish.