Toward a Unified Theory of the New York Cheesecake
FEATURED IN ATLAS OBSCURA
By Dan Nosowitz • February 18, 2016
Atlas Obscura turned to Melanie Underwood—author of Making Artisan Cheesecake and then an instructor at the Institute of Culinary Education—for a wonderfully specific question: what, exactly, is New York cheesecake?
Where modern cheesecake begins
In the piece, Melanie explains that the version we now recognize as modern cheesecake is tied to the development of cream cheese, a distinctly different ingredient from older fresh-cheese traditions.
“Modern cheesecakes came about with the invention of cream cheese.”
That distinction matters because New York cheesecake is not simply an old European cheese tart transplanted to New York. Its defining richness, density and structure are closely connected to cream cheese and the style of baking that developed around it.
Cake, pie—or custard?
The article plays with the taxonomy of cheesecake: despite its name, what category does it actually belong to? Melanie’s answer comes from thinking about technique rather than the label.
“For me, cheesecake is more of a custard, especially the baked [version].”
A classic New York-style cheesecake is thickened with eggs and gently baked, often in a water bath. In other words, its structure behaves much more like an egg-thickened custard than a conventional flour-based cake.
Why this piece still matters
Published in 2016, the Atlas Obscura feature captures a throughline in Melanie’s career that continues today: she does not only teach people what to do in the kitchen. She teaches them to understand why a technique works, how ingredients behave and how culinary categories evolved.
It also documents Melanie’s long-standing cheesecake expertise as the author of Making Artisan Cheesecake, years before Nourish & Gather took its current form.
The larger idea
Cheesecake may inspire arguments about whether it is a cake, pie or tart, but the more useful question is what is happening technically. Once you understand the eggs, dairy, heat and water bath, the dessert becomes far less mysterious—and much easier to make well.
ATLAS OBSCURA • FOOD HISTORY • New York cheesecake, cream cheese and custard technique
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