The Perfect Cheesecake

Cheesecakes: Yesterday and Today
The Perfect Cheesecake

Cheesecakes of Yesterday

Supposed by many to be America’s favorite desert, cheesecakes vary in recipes, size, consistency and taste. To understand the cheesecake, if that so happens to be an endeavor one wishes to undertake, we must first look back at its history. The cheesecakes conception supposedly took place in ancient Greece, where it was fed to Olympians. This would be around 777 B.C. An interesting side note; cheese molds have been discovered dating back to 2,000 B.C.

Who cut the cheese? It was the Romans! With the conquest of Greece, the Romans were poised as the cheesecake kings. They called the desert ‘placenta,’ or ‘libum.’ Aside from the Olympians, the cakes were often made as offerings to the gods.

The delicious desert spread across Europe from Greece like a sweet nectar, pausing briefly at kitchens along the way to bequeath its creamy recipe. Many, many years later (we’re talking centuries, here), the cheesecake made its way to American shores.

Today, the most prevalent ingredient in cheesecakes is Philadelphia Cream Cheese. As the name implies, Philadelphia Cream Cheese was created in America. Cream Cheese, itself was created long ago, and no one can be sure who its creator might be. Philadelphia Cream Cheese was developed in 1872 by James L Kraft when he was trying to duplicate the French cheese, Neufchâtel. In 1880, Philadelphia Cream Cheese was introduced to the market, and cheesecake was suddenly all too easy to bake, and by 1910, cheesecakes were a regular at the desert table.

Historic Cheesecake Recipes

There are way too many cheesecakes to list here, or anywhere for that matter. We’ll go over some of the more historical recipes here:

• Marcus Porcius Cato (160 B.C. ish)

Roman politician, writer, cheesecake enthusiast. In his only salvaged written work, Marcus writes about the simple joys of life. Contained in this tomb is his personal recipe for ‘libum.’ This recipe calls for two lbs of cheese finely crushed in a mortar, one lb of wheat-flour and one egg. These ingredients were mixed up until they became a delicious paste. The mixture was then molded into a loaf and cooked slowly in a hot fire beneath a brick.

• Anthenaeus (230 A.D.)

Greek trendsetter, Anthenaeus, wrote down what is considered by some to have recorded the first actual cheesecake recipe. (Marcus’s above recipe was for a more rudimentary sweet cake used for offerings.) The ‘original’ cheesecake went something like this:

Pound your cheese (amount not indicated) until it is smooth and a bit pasty. Place contents into sieve. Insert wheat flour and honey. Heat in one big mound over fire. Serve when cooled.

• Unknown Author (1545)

The following recipe stems from a cookbook believed to hail from the mid 16th century:

Tarte of Cheese – Start with hard cheese. Cut into slices and pare it. Lay slices in fair water or sweet milk. After 3 hours, break into small pieces in a mortar. Sift through a strainer with 6 egg yolks. Season with sugar and sweet butter. Bake.

• The New York Cheesecake (1929)

Certainly one of the more celebrated cheesecakes of today is the New York Cheesecake. To hear a New Yorker talk about them, you’d think that cheesecakes begin and end in New York. It was reportedly created in the 1920s by the Reuben family at the legendary Turf Restaurant on 49th at Broadway. As the story goes, this family was the first to use cream cheese, as opposed to cottage cheese, which was the style at the time. The cheesecake was served at his restaurant, and quickly became very popular with locals.

A New York Cheesecake consists of 1 lb cream cheese, 1 lb ricotta cheese mixed together. Ad sugar, eggs, flour, cornstarch, vanilla, melted butter and sour cream. Once mixed, pour into ungreased pan. Bake for one hour at 325 degrees. Leave to cool in oven for 2 hours (closed oven door).

What Good is a Cheesecake?

Now that we know where cheesecakes come from, let’s talk about where they’re going; your dinner table. Cheesecakes make wonderful deserts. There is almost certainly a cheesecake to compliment any dinner one might serve. For instance, if your dinner consists of very rich foods, consider ending with a sweet turtle cheesecake. For an all American dinner, you might stuff your draw your evening to a close with a traditional New York cheesecake. And for the more health conscious connoisseurs, there is a sugar free cheesecake.

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