Cheese Info (1 Of 3) Recipe

Recipe Ingredients

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Cheeses The most essential ingredient in any
cheesecake is -- you guessed it -- Cheese. The cheeses that are most
commonly used are cream cheese, Neufchatel, cottage cheese, and
riccota, but there are some recipes that use such cheeses as gouda
and Swiss.
Cheese is made from milk, whether it be from cows, goats, or sheep.
It has even been made from buffalo and reindeer milk. The milk is
separated into curds (solids) and whey (liquids) and most of the
cheeses are made from the curds, although riccota is made from the
whey. The fresh or uncured cheeses are the ones you mostly will be
using in your cheesecakes, and these include cream cheese, neufchatel
and cottage cheese. Although these unripened cheeses all have roughly
the same proportion of cheese solids (roughly 15 to 18 percent), they
differ greatly in their butterfat content. All other things being
equal, the higher the butterfat content, the creamier the cheesecake.
CREAM CHEESE: Cream cheese, made from milk, must contain at least 33
percent butterfat and has one hundred calories per ounce. The water
content is 50 percent, the texture is smooth and oft, the flavor
delicate.
Allow the cheese to come to room temperature before using it so that
it will blend easily with other ingredients.
Cream cheese is sold in three-ounce and eight-ounce packages in all
supermarkets. Packages are usually dated so be sure to check for
freshness when you purchase it. Once purchased, the cheese is usable
for at least three weeks, sometimes even longer. The most widely
distributed brand is Kraft's Philadelphia Brand Cream Cheese although
store brands are also available. We've found that these store brands
vary somewhat in quality; they aren't always as smooth and rich as
we'd like. You may want to do some experimenting to see how well
store brands available in your area compare in flavor and texture
with the national brand. Imitation cream cheese is available in some
places, but we don't recommend it for your cheesecakes.
NEUFCHATEL: Neufchatel is made, in the United States, very similar to
cream cheese. It is made from whole or skim milk, or a combination
of milk and cream. Its butterfat content is a little lower -- about
25 percent -- and it usually has 70 calories per ounce. The water
content is 60 percent; the texture is a little lighter than cream
cheese. The flavor is milder, but in most cases it can be substituted
for cream cheese when a lower fat content is desired.
But then again, who do you think you're kidding? No matter how you
slice it, cheesecake is fattening. If you do decide to adapt a
cream-cheese recipe for use with neufchatel, remember that the water
content is a little higher than cream cheese; you may want to
increase slightly the quantity of one of the moisture-holding
ingredients (such as flour, cornstarch, gelatin, or egg whites)
called for in the recipe.
Neufchatel is sold much as is cream cheese and the usable life is
about the same. Do not confuse this with the French neufchatel,
which is similar to a camembert.
COTTAGE CHEESE: A wide variety of cottage cheeses are available on
the market ranging in butterfat content from 1/2 percent to 4
percent. The dry curd cottage cheeses have roughly twenty calories
per ounce and those with 4 percent butterfat contain about thirty
calories per ounce. The curds themselves are made from skim milk. The
richer cottage cheeses, sometimes called creamed cottage cheese are
made by adding the whole milk and cream to the curds. Unless
otherwise noted, the recipes calling for the use of Cottage cheese
mean the creamed cottage cheese (at least 2 percent butterfat)
carefully drained of excess moisture.
FARMER CHEESE: This is skim-milk cottage cheese that has been
pressed into small squares or rectangles. It is usually sold in
delicatessens or specialty shops as bricks. Dry-curd cottage cheese
can be substituted for farmer cheese if necessary.
RICOTTA: In the United States, ricotta is almost always made from
whole milk or a combination of milk and whey. The fat content is from
4 to 10 percent and there are about 50 calories per ounce. The water
content is about 72 percent; the texture is slightly grainy, ranging
to creamier if made from all milk. It is sold in 15 or 32-oz
containers which are usually dated. Be sure to check for freshness,
since this cheese keeps only for a few days.
Skim-milk ricotta is also available, and this resembles the original
ricotta made in Italy. Most cheesecake recipes call for the whole
milk ricotta.

Servings: 1

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