Cream cheese

Cream cheese is a soft, mild-tasting, white cheese that contains at least 33% milkfat (as marketed) with a moisture content of not more than 55%, and a pH range of 4.4 to 4.9. It is sold in brick form or in a small, tub-like container. Variety brands add such additional seasonings as garlic, dill, and olives. Cream cheese differs from other cheese in that it is not allowed time to mature and is meant to be consumed fresh. It is a primary ingredient in cheesecake and other desserts, and is often spread on bagels and eaten with lox (smoked salmon). On bagels, cream cheese is sometimes referred to by the Yiddish word schmear.

Origin, name

According to food manufacturer Kraft:

Cream cheese originated in the United States in 1872 when a dairyman in Chester, New York, developed a 'richer cheese than ever before,' made from cream as well as whole milk. Then in 1880, a New York cheese distributor, A. L. Reynolds, first began distributing cream cheese wrapped in tin-foil wrappers, calling it Philadelphia Brand....The name "Philadelphia Brand cream cheese" was adopted by Reynolds for the product because at that time, top-quality food products often originated in or were associated with the city, and were often referred to as being "Philadelphia quality."

In some places, including parts of Spain, cream cheese is called simply Philadelphia, and in places in Latin America, including Argentina and Chile, it is called Queso Philadelphia ("Philadelphia Cheese").

Usage

Cream cheese is used in many recipes.

In many European countries, cream cheese is eaten as a cheese, rather than a spread, and it is served on cheese trays. For example, in Italy, chunks of cream cheese are served in fresh salads. Japanese consumers put cream cheese on crusty bread. Cream cheese bars, originally invented in Russia, have made their way State-side in recent years.

Manufacture

Cream cheese is difficult to manufacture. Normally, protein molecules in milk have a negative surface charge, which keeps milk in a liquid state; the molecules act as surfactants, forming micelles around the particles of fat and keeping it in emulsion. Lactic acid bacteria are added to pasteurized and homogenized milk. During the fermentation at around 23 °C, the pH level of the milk decreases. Amino acids at the surface of the proteins begin losing negative charge or attain positive charge, turning the fat micelles from hydrophilic to hydrophobic state and causing the liquid to coagulate. If the bacteria are left in the milk too long, the pH lowers further, the micelles attain positive charge and the mixture returns to liquid form. The key then is to kill the bacteria by heating the mixture to 52-63 °C at the moment the cheese is in an isoelectric point, meaning the state at which half the ionizable surface amino acids of the proteins are positively charged and half are negative. Inaccurate timing of heating leads to an inferior or unusable product.

However, subtle changes in the timing of the process can result in variations in flavor and texture. Furthermore, because cream cheese has a higher fat content than other cheeses and fat repels water, which tends to separate from the cheese, stabilizers such as guar and carob gums must be added to prolong its shelf life.

Improper heat treatment of milk may lead to formation of hard particles of amorphous compacted protein, causing unpleasant grittiness.

See also

• FoodsDatabase.com Nutritional information for Philadelphia Cream Cheeses
• Dairy product
• Neufchâtel (cheese)
• Quark

References

• Davis, Joshua (June 2006). "Schmear Campaign". Wired. Retrieved 2006-06-05. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
• Sainani, et al. "Characterization of particles in cream cheese", J. Dairy Sci.