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What is Philadelphia-style cheesecake, really?
Google it and youâll read, over and over, that Philadelphia style is lighter in texture and also deeper in flavor than New York style. But more often than not, thereâll be scant other distinguishing details listed. As Franklin Fountain co-founder and local food history buff Eric Berley put it, itâs as if the Philly version being described is the âgelatoâ to the âice creamâ of the New York cheesecake you probably know.
Can Philadelphia claim such a vision of love â a cake thatâs more flavorful but also lighter? At best, the answer would be⊠maybe. It really depends which kind youâre referring to.
Yeah, thereâs more than one Philadelphia-style cheesecake out there. After speaking with several experts and chefs, we identified at least three varieties.
When most people refer to Philadelphia-style cheesecake, experts say, theyâretalking about a version marketedby the cream cheese brand. New York style typically has sour cream or heavy cream in the mix. Philadelphia style doesnât. Which means it doesnât have anything to do with Philadelphia, the city.
Food historians say the cheesecake dates back to ancient Greece. Later, in medieval England and then colonial America, cheesecakes made from curd cheeses were all the rage. A widely referenced history by food historian Gil Marks notes that Philadelphia had a tavern called âCheesecake Houseâ in the 18th century. Early European cheesecakes looked more like tarts than the dessertweâre now familiar with. We didnât get these creamy, thick-as-a-brick cheesecakes until the invention of cream cheese.
While there are debates about whether certain cream cheese production techniques were around before, most sources point to New York dairyman William Lawrence as the inventor. He started producing the cheese in 1872. At first, Lawrence was merely calling it cream cheese, but a distributor had a slick marketing idea for him. ââPhiladelphiaâ used to signify âquality,ââ Berley explained in an email. âWe once were a âWorkshop of the World.ââThe rest is not-actually-from-Philly history.
Cream cheese varieties of cheesecake seem to predate New York style, but it wasnât really until Jewish New Yorkers embraced the dish in the â30s that usage of Lawrenceâs creambegan torise, becoming thestandard in NYC and across the nation.
âAlmost all cheesecakes weâre used to are Philadelphia cheesecakes, because they only use cream cheese as their fat,â said Cheesecake Bible author George Geary, whoâs currently working on his third book solely devoted to the dessert.
Whether itâs plain, has a crown of fruit or comes with a drizzle of this or some sprinkles of that, itâs the fat in therecipe that counts here. âThe typical Philadelphia cheesecake,thatâs really hard to pinpoint, because I really think itâs because of the cream cheese more than anything,â Geary said.
In this respect, both New York style and this type of Philly style are exceedingly popularâ and not that dissimilar,with a graham cracker or cookie crust. But New York style, for all its gloryand added fats, can somehow still manage to taste dry. Multiple chefs told us that Philly style gets pointed to asan alternative to New York attributes that not everyone loves.
âI think thatâs what people are thinking of when they say they want cheesecakeâ thatâs what theyâre thinking in their brain,â Melanie Underwood, the author of Making Artisan Cheesecake, said of Philadelphia-style. Itâs âthe quintessential cheesecake.â
Underwood teaches cheesecake recipes at NYCâsInstitute for Culinary Education. She noted that they teach both varieties at ICE, but where New York style is tagged as such, the Philadelphia-style recipe is simply called âcheesecake.â
Most experts, like Geary and Berley, will tell you ourcity canât take credit for this. Underwood agrees with them that signs point to the brand, but also believes there was likely a sort of a âsibling rivalryâ between cities that contributed to a sense of competition between the two styles.
âI could not find conclusive information [on this],â she said. âPeople claim things⊠Who doesnât want to say they invented cheesecake?â
Vanessa Jackson, who goes by the moniker âThe Cheesecake Lady,â sold her signature personal-sized cheesecakes out of a Jenkintown storefront until earlier this year. She doesnât reckon that we can really plant our flag here either.
âI think anyone in Philadelphia is making an adaptation of somewhere else. Weâre not really known for cheesecake,â she said. And in fact, alot of the cheesecakes around this town are New York style. Termini Bros sells New York; Brendenbeckâs sells New York; Tiffanyâs sells âNew York Style with Philly attitude.â
For a bit, the brothers behind Darlingâs made a point to change that.
Starting at a small cafe in Center City and eventually expanding to another location plus Darlingâs Diner at the Piazza, the Arnold brothers became famous for serving what they called âthe original Philadelphia-styleâ cheesecake. Writer after writer called it fantastic, but unfortunately all locations have since shuttered. The brothers could not be reached for comment.
According toThe Spirit of the Riverwards,the entire concept for the Arnoldsâ business began with their cheesecake recipe. It was cream cheese-based but still fluffy, âso light you could eat it with a meal instead of as a meal.â
We couldnât find any bakery or restaurant that currently offers this version, which isnât actually surprising. The Northeast Times reported in 2008 that only two people knew the recipeâ its inventor Harry Arnold and one of the workers on staff. The recipe was so secret then that even Arnoldâs brother and business partner John didnât know what it was.
Per that article, the first Darlingâs location opened in 2005. Itâs final location closed last year. So, the city only really had that much-lauded version of cheesecake for a decade.
Before cream cheese, bakers used other cheesesâ whatever was available to them locally.
In the Northeast, you can still get it that way. Schenkâs, Haegeleâs and Holmesburg Bakery all keep New York-style on deck, but they also sell a cheesecake thatâs closer to the Pennsylvania Dutch version.The cheesecake that youâll find at these three establishmentsis traditionally baked in a rectangular form with the basic crust used for most pies. The cream is made from bakerâs cheese. If thereâs fruit involved, itâs placed inside the pie with the cheese mixture poured over it.
Another cheesecake you can find in town thatâs reminiscent of the Old World is aricotta cheesecake availableat some Italian bakeries, like Potitoâs and Isgroâs.
At Schenkâs, they call theirs the German cheesecake, actually. German recipes still call for quark, though. Bakerâs cheese is a more modern, seeminglylocal twist.
Buddy Gouger, who runs Holmesburg Bakery, put a call intohis dad to make sure he could properly explainwhy they make the âold fashionedâ as they do. In the olden days, Gouger reported back, they would strain cottage cheese in a cheesecloth, but that proved too time-consuming as the years went on, so they modified the recipe by using a bakerâs cheese base.
As it turns out, the old-fashioned is the better seller at Holmesburg. âWe donât even put it in the display. People just know,â said Gouger.
The sign on the door says that Holmesburg Bakery was established in 1900, but Gouger clarifies that thatâs the earliest date they can prove with documentation. Heâs seen a plaque from 1888. They still have horse shoes from when the location was a stable.
Rather than by the slice, at Holmesburg Bakery, you order the old fashioned by the quarter. And instead of tall and dense, itâs maybe an inch-high and soft. Itâs tart, but has the feel of country custard pie too. Gouger said the cream mixture is made from the bakerâs cheese, sugar, salt, vanilla, milk, powder and eggs. Thank God for minimalism. That cheesecake is delicious.