Cream cheese
Cream cheese is a soft, mild, spreadable fresh cheese made from milk and cream. It has a smooth texture and a slightly tangy flavor.
Lactic acid fermentation: A process in which bacteria convert sugars into lactic acid. Lactic acid cultures lower the mixture’s pH, contributing tang and helping form its soft curd.
Milk: A nutrient-rich liquid produced by mammals to feed their young. Milk supplies the proteins, water, lactose, and fat used in cream cheese.
Bagel: A ring-shaped bread roll traditionally boiled before baking. Cream cheese is a common spread for bagels, often paired with smoked salmon.
Neufchâtel cheese: A soft French cheese traditionally made from cow’s milk in Normandy. The French cheese is aged and differs from the fresh American product, despite a shared name.
Cream cheese manufacturing: The industrial process of producing cream cheese from milk, cream, cultures, and stabilizers. It shows how ingredients become a smooth, stable spread.
Cream: The fat-rich portion of milk separated by skimming or centrifugation. Adding cream distinguishes the product’s richness from many other fresh cheeses.
Cheesecake: A dessert with a filling made primarily from soft cheese, eggs, and sugar. Cream cheese supplies the dense, tangy filling in many American-style cheesecakes.
Mascarpone: A rich Italian fresh cheese made by acidifying cream. Mascarpone is typically fattier and less tangy than cream cheese.
Milk fat: The fat naturally present in milk, composed mainly of triglycerides. Cream raises fat content, giving cream cheese its rich mouthfeel.
Cheese: A food made by coagulating milk proteins and separating or retaining whey. Cream cheese belongs to the broad family of cheeses made from coagulated milk.