Popular American varieties
Different regions of North America have different varieties of the cheesecake recipes. There is the Chicago style, the New York style, the countryside style, the Philadelphia style, and the Pennsylvania variety. Vegan varieties and lactose free varieties are also available. The Cheesecake Kludys is a semi sweet Pittsburgh delicacy. Almost to balance the semi sweetness of Pittsburgh, there is the slightly sour Pennsylvania-Dutch variety. The cheese used here is farmer's cheese. Speaking of farmers and rural areas, in the countryside you will find buttermilk to make cheese that has a longer shelf life and a firm texture. Baking is done once in some regions and twice in other regions. The National Cheesecake Day is on July 30th.
Popular European varieties
Every country in Europe has its own version of the cheesecake recipes. Scotland has smoked salmon cheesecakes, Britain and Ireland have fruit compote on top of the cakes, the Germans use quark cheese, Bulgarians use cream cheese, Italians have a thing for honey and ricotta cheese, and the French make very light cakes using the Neufchatel cheese. Greece, the original country of cheesecakes, uses Mizithra. (It is interesting to note that owing to media influence, many Greeks think that this is an American food). Sweden, Netherlands, and Poland all have their own varieties of the recipe. You can decide to make whichever one you like, or all of them one at a time to decide which one is better.
Cheesecake recipes have many more variations. They take different forms in Asian countries, in South America, and in Australia. In South America, they are popular mostly in Colombia, Argentina, and Brazil. The Brazilian style uses guava marmalade, Argentineans serve it with strawberry and berry marmalade toppings, and in Columbia, they use panela, honey, and cujada. The host serves the cheesecake with strawberries, blackberries, and boiled figs. In the Asian varieties, mango pulp and lychee are popular. Australian recipes do not involve baking. Favorite Australian flavours are passion fruit, chocolate, raspberry, caramel, vanilla and lemon. You have the whole world at your fingertips when you decide to try these recipes.
Some important aspects
While preparing cheesecake recipes, there are certain crucial points to note. For instance, after you have baked the cheesecake, do not remove it from the pan before 12 hours have elapsed, because that much time is required for it to freeze and take shape. Also, as soon as you take it out of the oven, use a thin knife to separate the edges of the cake from the pan, otherwise the cake may crumble. While preparing, the right extent of batter is crucial, so do not overdo it. When you are using cream cheese, mix it at room temperature, otherwise you may find lumps in the cake.
All these different variations of cheesecake recipes (do you know that the Danish term is cheesecake opskrift?) make it a truly international food. Wherever you travel in America or Europe, you are sure to find a local variety of cheesecake. For some people, this very fact can serve as an incentive to travel to new places and be a cheesecake connoisseur.