In Case You Were Curious… About Cheesecake
July 30, 2018
The Bottom Line: Sweet facts about cheesecake!
The Full Story:
- A cheesecake–at least an American-style cheesecake–is not a cake; it’s a baked cheese custard pie with a crust. The uncooked custard filling is poured into a crust and then baked.
- It is believed that cheesecakes were served to athletes competing during the first Olympic games in 776 B.C. to give them energy.
- Modern commercial American cream cheese was developed in 1872, when William Lawrence, from Chester, New York, while looking for a way to recreate the soft, French cheese Neufchâtel, accidentally came up with a way of making an “unripened cheese” that is heavier and creamier; other dairymen came up with similar creations independently.
- March 6th is National White Chocolate Cheesecake Day.
- The largest cheesecake ever made weighed a hefty 4,703 pounds. Philadelphia Kraft Foods Mexico made the giant cake, which set a Guinness World Record on January 25, 2009 in Mexico.
- 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.
- On the “The Golden Girls,” the cast consumed more than 100 cheesecakes (the characters’ favorite dessert) over the course of the TV show’s seven-year run.