A History of Cheesecake

A Tradition American Cheesecake

I can remember way back to my first bite of cheesecake. I was about 8 or 9 years old. I can still remember it’s smooth, sweet flavor. I was instantly in love with it. It became my favorite dessert. I love everything about it and especially the hundreds of varieties that come from around the world. Though we now have more complicated recipes, the original cheesecake resembled more of a cake than a pie like we’re used to

The exact origins of cheesecake are not known but cheese molds have been excavated from the Greek island of Samos. These cheese molds are believed to be about 4,000 years old. Greece believed that cheesecake was a good source of energy and may have even served it to athletes during the first Olympic Games in 776 B.C. It was even often served as a wedding cake.

The oldest known surviving cheesecake recipe comes from the writer Athenaeus. The first recipe consisted of blending wheat, flour, honey, and cheese into a dough and then baked in a cake pan.

When Greece was conquered by Rome, they further adapted the recipe to include eggs and crushed cheese. When it was included in the first cookbook in 1545, it was simply described as a sweet, flour based food.

The addition of cream cheese is something that has its’ roots in the U.S. In 1872, A New York farmer by the name of William Lawrence was trying to duplicate a French cheese called Neufchâtel. Instead he accidentally discovered cream cheese. This exact same recipe was later packaged and sold as Philadelphia Cream Cheese. Though the company has been sold many times over, the recipe remains the same.

 

How is cheesecake different around the world? In the U.S. we typically enjoy a custard-based cream cheese filling with a graham cracker crust – which makes it not really a cake, but a pie. The UK makes a variety of cheesecake that is close to the U.S. version and uses a base that is made of crushed buttered biscuits. It is then topped with a fruit capote that often involves raspberries, strawberries, and lemon curd.

Sweden has a very different take on cheesecake called ostkaka.  They typically add rennet to milk which causes it to coagulate. It’s then baked and served warm. Since the process of correctly curdling milk is tricky, some Swedish recipes call for the use of cream cheese instead. It is significantly less sweet than its’ American counterpart.

Japanese cheesecake resembles more of a flan than anything else. They are served warm and have a more sponge like texture due to whisking egg whites before they are added. It contains less cheese and sugar than the American dish, but is high in fat due to the inclusion of both cream cheese and butter.

A Japanese Cheesecake

A traditional Greek cheesecake uses mizithra or anthotyros cheese that has been sweetened with honey. However, the cheese can be substitute with ricotta cheese instead. Sometimes the mixtures include and crust and sometimes the flour is incorporated directly into the cheese/honey mix.

Greek Cheesecake