For the love of cheesecake

Cheesecake is a very popular dessert all over the world. When it comes to cheesecakes, NYC is a piece of heaven.

The story of milk curd pie is much deeper because the concept of “curd” is found not only in America but in all humanity. The word “cheese” comes from the Latin word – caseus. Historians believe that the first cheesecake was made in ancient Greece. In the book of Mark Porcius Cato the Elder “On Agriculture”, he details a curd pie recipe for Olympic athletes. The Romans spread this recipe to Europe, and with immigrants, it came to the United States. Thanks to the love of the Americans, this famous dessert has spread around the world.

A bit of history

In 1872 William Lawrence, who owned a New York dairy, attempted to make Neufchâtel, a tangy, crumblier cheese product that was popular in Europe at the time. Instead, he accidentally added an excessive amount of cream and created a richer, more spreadable cheese, which would eventually be called “cream cheese”.

In 1912, James L. Kraft invented the method of pasteurizing cream cheeses. In this form, “Philadelphia” is still produced and this lead to the development of the new recipe for the cheesecake.

The classical cheesecake we know these days was first made in NYC. by the owner of the legendary restaurant “Turf”.

Fun facts

• Although cheesecake may be considered a cake or pie, it is not really a “biscuit” dessert because its base is often crushed shortbread cookies. The main part of cheesecake is the filling, which is made of soft cheese, sugar, and full-fat cream. The dish should be kept in the refrigerator before serving.
• Italians add ricotta to cheesecake, and Greeks feta cheese.
• The peculiarity of Asian cheesecakes is the added matcha tea, which gives the cake a green hue.