Preparation, uses, and tips
Cream cheese is widely used in spreads, dips, and in baking, especially in cheesecake and
as a filling for fruit tarts. Cream cheese spreads or dips may be seasoned with herbs, spices,
onions, olives, pimiento, relish, pineapple, or walnuts, or may be combined with such seasonings as
caraway seeds, garlic, and sour cream. These various flavors are especially
enjoyable with vegetables, fruits, and breads. Interesting ways to use cream cheese include
horseradish-seasoned cream cheese in stuffed
tomatoes, and cream-cheese sauce for shell-shaped pasta. Cream cheese is sometimes mixed
with other cheeses—for example, the intensely flavored blue Italian cheese Gorgonzola—to create savory spreads and hors
d’oeuvres.
Buying and storing tips
Fresh cream cheese can be kept in the refrigerator from 2 to 14 days. Keep it well wrapped
or in a sealed container so that it doesn’t dry out or pick up flavors from other
food.
Varieties
Many brands of cream cheese contain thickeners or gums; gum-free cream cheese is available
at some specialty shops. Cream cheese is also available as a spread, flavored with herbs or
peppers. The fat content of this cheese varies widely, from the high-fat German fresh double
cream cheese to low-fat Quark, which has only about 5% fat. Reduced-fat cream cheeses are
typically whipped and expanded with air. Some low-fat versions contain whey powder, which
tends to alter the texture.
Neufchâtel
Neufchâtel is a name used in the United States for a softer form of cream cheese that
contains 20 to 33% fat, although the cheese bears no relationship to French Neufchâtel,
produced only in Normandy. The best-known European varieties of cream-cheese type cheeses
include Italian mascarpone, often used as the
basis for sweet desserts, Austrian Quark, the French crème fraîche, and a broad range of herbed
or flavored spreads, including goats’ milk cheeses like chèvre.
Nutrition Highlights
Cream cheese, 1 Tbsp (about 15g)
Calories: 51
Protein: 1.1g
Carbohydrate: 0.39g
Total Fat: 5.0g
Fiber: 0.0g