Key takeout
During my mornings, my fridge almost always stocks bricks or four pieces of creamy cheese, between all the bagels and the richness of creamy recipes I test and develop. The one punch of decadence and Tang is the secret weapon of many comfortable food, from the charming hot crab dip to Japanese cheesecake in the mouth.
Just like butter, cream cheese is the easiest to cook well when softened to room temperature. Usually I pull out the foil wrapped brick from the fridge before baking, hoping it will soften properly by the time I prepare and measure the other ingredients.
Is it scientific? No, does it work? sometimes. So I thought it was the time I could safely store cream cheese at the counter and how it should be stored when I opened the package.
Luckily, Takahashi Rui, associate manager at Kraftheinz Cuisine (Philadelphia’s parent company), had all the answers he needed.
Can I leave cream cheese safely on the counter?
According to Takahashi, “Philadelphia cream cheese can be held at room temperature for up to an hour before the inside foil package is opened.” This is great news for our bakery, as it only takes about 30 minutes for the cream cheese to reach room temperature, unless your kitchen is particularly cold. I like to give the block a gentle thrust with a finger and check the level of its softness. It should succumb to a slight pressure.
If you already have a foil package open, things are a little more complicated.
Takahashi said that using open cream cheese “within minutes” is the safest option, as environmental factors in individuals vary.
If you find yourself in this position and need to quickly soften an already open block, we recommend turning to the microwave, the best tool for speeding up the softening process. Remove the foil package completely and place the cream cheese on the microwave safe plate. Microwave low power (usually 30-40%) in 20 seconds increments until the cream cheese is soft. Cutting the cream cheese into smaller, equally larger cubes will make the process even faster.
Simply recipe/Mark Beam
What is the best way to store open cream cheese?
Takahashi suggests holding the foil in a block of partially used cream cheese and reinforce it with a layer of plastic wrap to suppress air.
For even more elongated freshness, store double-packed cheese in an airtight container. In this way, the open cream cheese will remain fresh for 10 days. For unopened packages, you can refer to the expiration date printed on the package.
Freeze cream cheese for longer storage
If you have cream cheese that cannot be used before the expiration date, freezing can be a good option.
American test kitchens have experimented with thawing previous frozen cream cheese, but found that they can be used perfectly depending on the application. Due to the moisture content of cream cheese, if the frozen blocks were previously rough and roughly fall off, they would easily break. This means it’s not good for mixing recipes that involve schmearing them with bagels or heading out for cream cheese, such as cheesecake or cream cheese frosting.
However, in baking recipes such as pound cakes and biscuits, where cheese textures are hidden, the previously frozen ones worked well. I think these cream cheese pecan cookies will be the perfect candidate.
