The oldest known recorded recipe (circa 160 BC) was for a type of cake eaten during religious celebrations in Greece, containing goat cheese and in no way resembling our modern version. Fast-forward to 1390 when an English cookbook had a chef named Heston Blumenthal insist that cheesecake is an English invention, which it very well could be; but whichever country gets the credit, no one has elevated it to its current art form like the Americans. When cream cheese was first developed in 1872, a New Yorker was looking for a way to recreate the smooth, delicious cheese called Neufchâtel that he had eaten in England and France, and he came up with a method of making a “raw cheese” that was and creamier Along with other dairy farmers, William Chester began mass-producing it under the name Philadelphia Cream Cheese and ushered in today’s versions.
Basically, cheesecake comes in two different types: baked and unbaked, and both have their merits:
++New York-style cheesecake is based on heavy or sour cream, is rich, and has a dense, smooth consistency likely to be found in Jewish delicatessens and high-end restaurants;
++The Chicago style is a baked version that is firm on the outside with a softer texture on the inside; the crust used is usually made from whole-grain shortbread or crackers, crushed and mixed with sugar and butter; frozen cheesecakes tend to be called Chicago-style (can you say Sara Lee?);
The food city of Chicago is actually home to the two largest cheesecake makers in the country, Sara Lee and Eli’s:
++Cream Cheesecake Sara Lee put this dessert on the map with her Original Cream Cheesecake. In 1949, bakery owner Charles Lubin pioneered the frozen food business when he invented a premium cream cheese pie for sale in supermarkets and restaurants. He named the cheesecake after his daughter, Sara Lee. Lubin’s product was so successful that just two years later, in 1951, he opened Kitchens of Sara Lee and began adding other items to his bakery line. In the early 1950s, the aluminum foil tray was introduced that allowed you to bake, flash freeze, and sell your products in the same container;
++ Eli’s Cheesecake (1980) is also based in Chicago. Eli’s Original Plain Cheesecake, which has been called “Chicago’s most famous dessert,” is made of cream cheese, sour cream, eggs, sugar, and vanilla in a shortbread cookie crust; originally served exclusively at Ei’s restaurant on the north side; its popularity eventually resulted in Eli Shulman beginning to produce and sell the cake nationally and it continues to gain more market share annually. Eli’s has made cheesecakes for four US presidential inaugurations. In both 1993 and 1997, she earned £2,000 for Bill Clinton’s inauguration ceremonies, as well as numerous celebrity birthdays and special events, and is a popular Oprah dessert (no wonder); Making her debut at the first Taste of Chicago in 1980, she has had a starring role in all of them since.
Cheesecake Factory Restaurants – Opened in the Los Angeles area (1978) and now with over 200 locations nationwide; Not known for their low-calorie cuisine, they offer 35 different flavors of cheesecake, one more decadent than the other, and are a living testament to the popularity of this dessert.
Hundreds of countries have their own unique versions with different ingredients and presentations, but the United States remains king of the mountain and shows no signs of stopping their love affair. If eaten in moderation, they can be enjoyed year-round; if you eat in large quantities, well, you can keep your cardiologist in the latest Mercedes. But grab a fork, a nice cup of coffee, and eat. You only live once.
