The History of Cheesecake

My favourite dessert

So my page is all over the place in regards to what I write about which I like. I just write about whatever takes my fancy on any particular day. I try to stay away from hot topics where I can. It’s not that I don’t care, it’s just that I don’t have the time to properly research such subjects to get to the actual truth and facts and then put those into words.

Also there’s plenty of people on here ALREADY writing about these subjects, giving you their facts and opinions and I look at the knowledge and think think to myself I don’t need to regurgitate what’s already been said. So why bore you with ANOTHER boring article about death and destruction when we could talk about something which I know most people love. If you don’t then what’s wrong with you!!! (It occurs to me that their’s probably plenty of articles about cheesecake too but shush.)

So, here we go. Cheesecake. I love cheesecake. It’s delicious, comes in so many flavours. The bases are amazing, toppings are awesome. I’m drooling at the thought. I’m guessing that people who read this have their own recipes or favourite places to go and eat some so if you do then please!! I’m begging you. Share the wealth. Add them to the comments for the future me to make and eat.

Now for the Americans that read this, especially you New Yorkers, you didn’t invent cheesecake. I’m sorry. Just like Gus says from My Big Fat Greek Wedding about the Greeks inventing everything, the Greeks might have written down the first cheesecake recipe.

The first “cheese cake” may have been created on the Greek island of Samos. Physical anthropologists excavated cheese molds there which were dated circa 2,000 B.C. Cheese and cheese products had most likely been around for thousands of years before this, but earlier than this goes into prehistory (that period in human history before the invention of writing) so we will never really know which is a shame. In Greece, cheesecake was considered to be a good source of energy, and there is evidence that it was served to athletes during the first Olympic games in 776 B.C. (Can you imagine The Rock smashing in a cheesecake before Wrestlemania) Greek brides and grooms were also known to use cheesecake as a wedding cake.

Let me also take you back in history to 230 A.D. The writer Athenaeus is credited for writing the first Greek cheesecake recipe in 230 A.D. (By this time, the Greeks had been serving cheesecake for over 2,000 years apparently but this is the oldest known surviving Greek recipe!) It was also pretty basic - pound the cheese until it is smooth and pasty - mix the pounded cheese in a brass pan with honey and spring wheat flour - heat the cheese cake “in one mass” - allow to cool then serve.

As the Romans expanded their empire (See ladies. The Tik Tok trend is true. We do always think of the Roman Empire), they brought cheesecake recipes to the Europeans. Great Britain and Eastern Europe began experimenting with ways to put their own unique spin on cheesecake which is awesome. In each country of Europe, the recipes started taking on different cultural shapes, using ingredients native to each region. In 1545, the first cookbook was printed. It described the cheesecake as a flour-based sweet food.

Even Henry VIII’s (hmmmm maybe I’ll do an article on our most famous King) chefs did their part to shape the cheesecake recipe. Apparently, his chefs cut up cheese into very small pieces and soaked those pieces in milk for three hours. Then, they strained the mixture and added eggs, butter and sugar.

It was not until the 18th century, however, that cheesecake would start to look like something we recognise in the United States and the western world today. Around this time, Europeans began to use beaten eggs instead of yeast to make their breads and cakes rise. Removing the overpowering yeast flavour made cheesecake taste more like a dessert treat. When Europeans immigrated to America, some brought their cheesecake recipes along.

Cream cheese was an American addition to the cake, and it has since become a staple ingredient in the United States. In 1872, a New York dairy farmer was attempting to replicate the French cheese Neufchatel. Instead, he accidentally discovered a process which resulted in the creation of cream cheese. Three years later, cream cheese was packaged in foil and distributed to local stores under the Philadelphia Cream Cheese brand. The Philadelphia Cream Cheese brand was purchased in 1903 by the Phoenix Cheese Company, and then it was purchased in 1928 by the Kraft Cheese Company. Kraft continues to make this very same delicious Philadelphia Cream Cheese that we are all familiar with today. (Philadelphia cream cheese is what I use in my own cheesecakes.)

Of course, no story of cheesecake is complete without delving into the origins of the New York style cheesecake (I love me some New York Style. I grate chocolate over the top). The Classic New York style cheesecake is served with just the cake – no fruit, chocolate or caramel is served on the top or on the side. This famously smooth-tasting cake gets its signature flavour from extra egg yolks in the cream cheese cake mix.

By the 1900s, New Yorkers were in love with this dessert. Virtually every restaurant had its own version of cheesecake on their menu. New Yorkers have vied for bragging rights for having the original recipe ever since. Even though he is best known for his signature sandwiches, Arnold Reuben (1883-1970) is generally credited for creating the New York Style cheesecake. Reuben was born in Germany and he came to America when he was young. The story goes that Reuben was invited to a dinner party where the hostess served a cheese pie. Allegedly, he was so intrigued by this dish that he experimented with the recipe until he came up with the beloved NY Style cheesecake. Of course if there is anyone from New York and reads this wishes to correct me then please do in the comments.

So there you go. Obviously cheesecake has gone from strength to strength in the years since. It’s my dessert of choice 90% of the time. Hell I’ve even been known to order my dessert first on occasion which always trips up the waitresses.

Do you have a favoured recipe? Do you have a favourite cafe or restaurant that serves? Share the love please.

I bake a mean white chocolate cheese cake. It’s not often I make it though. It’s very sickening. I use chocolate digestives for the base and Milky Bar white chocolate in the cheese.

I don’t know about you but I’m dying for one so on my way home I might go and buy a slice for my dessert tonight.

I hope I find you all happy and healthy.

Vulkan