Cream Cheese: What It Is and How to Use It

It is real cheese with a legal definition, at least 33 percent milkfat and no more than 55 percent moisture, which is why it is so rich and spreads without crumbling.

The culture explains the tang and the texture. Lactic acid bacteria sour the milk and cream until the proteins set into a smooth curd, which is warmed, drained and worked into a thick paste. Nothing about it is aged, so it is sold as a fresh cheese.

Cream cheese at a glance

This table shows cream cheese at a glance, drawn from the federal standard and USDA nutrient data.

What the FDA says about cream cheese

The FDA's standard for cream cheese, 21 CFR 133.133, sets a fat floor and a moisture ceiling. Cream cheese must be at least 33 percent milkfat and no more than 55 percent moisture, and its dairy ingredients must be pasteurized. USDA measures 34.4 grams of fat and 52.6 grams of water per 100 grams, so ordinary cream cheese sits just inside both limits. Salt, whey and up to 0.5 percent stabilizers are allowed, which is why labels list gums such as carob bean or guar.

How cream cheese is made

Cream cheese is made by souring pasteurized milk and cream with a lactic culture, then draining and working the curd. USDA's 1953 cheese handbook describes a mix that is usually homogenized, cooled to 75 to 85°F and cultured, with or without rennet. The curd is stirred smooth, heated and drained. In the cold-pack method it is then pressed, chilled, salted and mixed smooth, and in the hot-pack method it is pasteurized and packed while still semifluid.

The label shows the finish. Kraft's Philadelphia brick lists pasteurized milk and cream, salt, carob bean gum and cheese culture, and its soft tub swaps in guar gum and adds a mold inhibitor. At home, milk, cream and a culture or acid are enough, as the homemade cream cheese guide shows.

Block vs tub cream cheese

Block vs tub cream cheese is a choice between firmness and spreadability. Kraft says its brick is used mainly for cooking and baking, while its soft tub is more spreadable and was developed for toast, bagels, crackers and dipping vegetables. Its block product page points to cheesecake and frosting, so use the block there and the tub for bagels and dips.

Cream cheese vs Neufchâtel

Cream cheese vs Neufchâtel is a difference of fat and water. In the US, Neufchâtel is a soft, uncured cheese made much like cream cheese but with 20 to under 33 percent milkfat and up to 65 percent moisture.

Kraft markets its Neufchâtel block for the same cheesecake and frosting recipes as its cream cheese, with a third less fat.

How to use cream cheese

How to use cream cheese depends on whether the cheese needs to be smooth, firm or melted.

• Bagels and crackers: use a tub, or a softened block, and spread it thick.
• Cheesecake: use a block at room temperature. Kraft says softened cream cheese blends with sugar without lumps, which are much harder to smooth out once eggs go in. The New York cheesecake guide has the method.
• Frosting: beat a softened block with butter and powdered sugar, then keep the cake cold.
• Dips and sauces: cut cold cream cheese into small cubes and whisk them into a warm sauce until melted, as Kraft suggests.

To soften a block, leave it on the counter for about an hour. The FDA says foods that need refrigeration should not sit out for more than two hours, or one hour above 90°F. In a hurry, unwrap the block and microwave it in a bowl on high for 15 seconds, as Kraft advises.

Storing cream cheese

Storing cream cheese means keeping it cold and sealed. Keep the refrigerator at or below 40°F (4°C), as the FDA advises, reseal the package after each use, and finish an opened package within 10 days or by the date printed on it, whichever comes first, as Kraft recommends. Desserts made with cream cheese, baked or not, belong in the refrigerator covered and are best within 5 days.

What most cream cheese advice gets wrong

Most cream cheese advice treats every soft white tub as the same cheese, and three details change that.

Reduced-fat cream cheese is not Neufchâtel. Neufchâtel is a standardized cheese. A tub labeled reduced-fat cream cheese is regular cream cheese modified under 21 CFR 130.10, which lets makers add ingredients such as whey protein concentrate and restore nutrients such as vitamin A, and requires the label to flag what is not in regular cream cheese with an asterisk. Kraft sells both.

French Neufchâtel is a different cheese. The EU register protects Neufchâtel as a PDO from the Bray region of northern France. It is a soft, lightly pressed, rennet-set cow's-milk cheese with a white mold rind, shaped as rounds, bricks, squares or hearts and ripened at least ten days.

A schmear is fat, not protein. USDA lists 9.8 grams of fat and 1.7 grams of protein in an ounce of cream cheese, against 6.5 grams of protein in cheddar, so it works as a spread rather than a protein food.

Questions about cream cheese

These questions about cream cheese come up most in the kitchen and at the store.

Is cream cheese real cheese?

Cream cheese is real cheese: the FDA defines it as a soft, uncured cheese. It is a natural cheese, not a process cheese like American cheese, and the federal process cheese standard lists it among the cheeses that may not be made into process cheese.

What is the difference between cream cheese and mascarpone?

Mascarpone is less tangy than cream cheese, and Wisconsin cheesemakers suggest it as a swap in desserts and spreads. The cream cheese vs. mascarpone comparison covers fat, tang and uses.

Can you freeze cream cheese?

You can freeze cream cheese, but it thaws crumbly and grainy, and America's Test Kitchen found that cheesecake made with it turned out gritty while pound cake and biscuits were fine. NDSU Extension says it can be frozen for use in cooking, dips or icing, and Kraft advises against it for quality, not safety. The freezing cheese guide covers the rest.

What can you use instead of cream cheese?

Instead of cream cheese, use Neufchâtel in cheesecake and frosting, or mascarpone or ricotta in desserts and spreads, which Wisconsin cheesemakers suggest. The substitute finder lists more swaps.

Is cream cheese safe during pregnancy?

Cream cheese is on the CDC's list of safer cheese choices during pregnancy when it is made with pasteurized milk, and the federal standard requires pasteurized dairy ingredients. Check the label on small-batch or imported spreads, and see cheese during pregnancy for the full list.

Choosing cream cheese

Choosing cream cheese starts with the job. Buy a block for cheesecake and frosting, a tub for bagels, and Neufchâtel when you want less fat without changing the recipe. For a first test, buy one block and one tub of the same brand, taste them side by side on a bagel, and save the block for your next cheesecake.