Creole cream cheese is a form of

farmer cheese In the United States, farmer cheese (also farmer's cheese or farmers' cheese) is pressed curds, an unripened cheese made by adding rennet and bacterial starter to coagulate and acidify milk. Farmer cheese may be made from the milk of cows, sh ...

that is traditional in the

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

area. It is made from

skim milk Skimmed milk (British English), or skim milk (American English), is made when all the milkfat is removed from whole milk. It tends to contain around 0.1% fat. Background Historically, skimmed milk was used for fattening pigs, and was recommended ...

buttermilk Buttermilk is a fermented dairy drink. Traditionally, it was the liquid left behind after churning butter out of cultured cream. As most modern butter in western countries is not made with cultured cream but uncultured sweet cream, most m ...

and rennet, has a mild, slightly tart, slightly sweet taste, and is frequently mixed with

cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

, sugar and

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants (also known as angiosperms) disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particu ...

and served as a dessert. It is often used to make Creole cream cheese ice cream. In homes it was traditionally eaten for breakfast and served with cream, fruit, or sugar; it can also be served on toast with butter, salt and pepper.

History

According to Mauthe o
Mauthe's Progress Milk Barn
an artisan dairy credited with helping resurrect the dish, Creole cream cheese originated in the 1800s among people of French ancestry. Instead of forming the

curd Curd is obtained by coagulating milk in a sequential process called curdling. It can be a final dairy product or the first stage in cheesemaking. The coagulation can be caused by adding rennet or any edible acidic substance such as l ...

s, they are said to have hung the clabber in a mesh bag in a tree and let the whey drain off. Creole cream cheese was served in a bowl and cream was poured over it. Mauthe remembers it being eaten on French bread in some areas and on cornbread in other parts of the Southern United States. Creole cream cheese is listed in the

Ark of Taste The Ark of Taste is an international catalogue of endangered heritage foods which is maintained by the global Slow Food movement. The Ark is designed to preserve at-risk foods that are sustainably produced, unique in taste, and part of a distin ...

, an international catalog of

heritage foods Heritage Foods Limited (commonly known as Heritage Foods) is one of the largest private sector dairy enterprises in Southern India. History The Heritage Group was founded in 1992 by Telugu Desam Party Chief and former Chief Minister of Andhr ...

in danger of extinction, maintained by the global

Slow Food Slow Food is an organization that promotes local food and traditional cooking. It was founded by Carlo Petrini in Italy in 1986 and has since spread worldwide. Promoted as an alternative to fast food, it strives to preserve traditional and re ...

movement. Creole cream cheese's popularity declined during the second half of the 20th century and it became difficult to find. Several

dairies A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...

in South Louisiana have offered creole cream cheese in the past, including Borden's, Gold Seal and Barbe's. In 1998 it was still available at Dorignac's Food Center on Veterans Boulevard in Metairie. The Gold Seal Creamery that was the last Creole cream cheese factory in New Orleans operated from about 1920 to 1986 and its blond-brick building constructed in 1954 is being converted into loft apartments.

Resurgence

More recently, creole cream cheese has had a resurgence. New Orleans native chef

David Guas David Guas (born June 5, 1975) is a chef, TV personality, restaurateur and cookbook author from New Orleans, Louisiana. Biography David Guas grew up in New Orleans. He exchanged his ten-year tenure as a corporate pastry chef for an entrepreneurial ...

offers creole cream cheese at his Bayou Bakery, Coffee Bar & Eatery in

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County is a county in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The county is situated in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from the District of Columbia, of which it was once a part. The county ...

served with

biscuits and pepper jelly. The

New Orleans Museum of Art The New Orleans Museum of Art (or NOMA) is the oldest fine arts museum in the city of New Orleans. It is situated within City Park, a short distance from the intersection of Carrollton Avenue and Esplanade Avenue, and near the terminus of the ...

(NOMA) included creole cream cheese as part of its 2012 "Art You Can Eat" demonstrations, with

Leah Chase Leyah (Leah) Chase (née Lange; January 6, 1923 – June 1, 2019) was an American chef based in New Orleans, Louisiana. An author and television personality, she was known as the Queen of Creole Cuisine, advocating both African-American art an ...

making it. Poppy Tooker has also been credited with helping resurrect the dish. The ''Encyclopedia of Cajun and Creole Cuisine'' includes instructions on making the dish at home. The intensive process required to make creole cream cheese, a yogurt-like and slightly sweet concoction, has made a comeback including with a cheesecake recipe from the Mauthe (pronounced Moh-tay) family of

McComb, Mississippi McComb is a city in Pike County, Mississippi, United States. The city is approximately south of Jackson. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 12,790. It is the principal city of the McComb, Mississippi Micropolitan Statist ...

who operate the Progress Milk Barn, nearly destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

Creole cream cheese ice cream

Creole cream cheese ice cream is also a Louisiana tradition. The

USDA The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is the federal executive department responsible for developing and executing federal laws related to farming, forestry, rural economic development, and food. It aims to meet the needs of com ...

cracked down on dairies over concerns about spoilage and added regulations over milk and cheese production; production has become far more limited. The ice cream flavor was available at K&B drugstores. Other past producers include Brown's Dairy (formerly Brown's Velvet Dairy) in New Orleans.

John Besh John Besh (born May 14, 1968) is an American chef, TV personality, philanthropist, restaurateur and author. He is known for his efforts in preserving the culinary heritage of New Orleans cuisine. Background Besh was born in Meridian, Mississippi, ...

offers a creole cream cheese red velvet ice cream at his Soda Shop in the

National World War II Museum The National WWII Museum, formerly known as The National D-Day Museum, is a military history museum located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S., on Andrew Higgins Drive between Camp Street and Magazine Street. The ...

. Mam's House of Ice in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...

offers Creole Cream Cheese ice cream.

Baskin Robbins Baskin-Robbins is an American multinational chain of ice cream and cake speciality shops owned by Inspire Brands. Based in Canton, Massachusetts, Baskin-Robbins was founded in 1945 by Burt Baskin (1913–1967) and Irv Robbins (1917–2008) ...

offered the flavor in 2011/2012. In April 2013,

Blue Bell Creameries Blue Bell Creameries is an American food company that manufactures ice cream. It was founded in 1907 in Brenham, Texas. For much of its early history, the company manufactured both ice cream and butter locally. In the mid-20th century, it abandon ...

re-released the flavor in Louisiana and the Mississippi Gulf Coast region, and in 2018 released the flavor again in the Pine Belt area of Mississippi, most notably in the Ramey's supermarket chain. Another version is made by New Orleans Ice Cream Company.Beth Colvin
"Englishman finds N.O. flavors for ice cream"
'' The Advocate'', April 24, 2013.

References

{{American cheeses American cheeses Louisiana cuisine Cream cheeses

History

Resurgence

Creole cream cheese ice cream

See also

References