Cream cheese refers to the soft, spreadable white cheese that is consumed fresh. It was first made in the 1870s in Chester, New York, but in 1880, a well-known New York cheese manufacturer, A.L. Reynolds, began to distribute the cheese in the familiar foil wrapping. It was packaged under the label "Philadelphia Cream Cheese," and Philadelphia Cream Cheese continues to be one of the most easily recognized brands. He used Philadelphia in the name not because it was created there, but because in that era, associating a food with the city suggested a higher quality. In some countries, cream cheese is simply called Philadelphia to differentiate from other “cream” cheeses like triple cream brie.

Cream cheese is made from a combination of cream and milk, and is not matured or hardened, as are other cheeses. Instead, it is slightly firmed by the introduction of lactic acid. Frequently, less expensive brands will add stabilizers like guar gum to get the necessary firmness, because the high fat content of the milk products is prone to separating. Some feel that using stabilizers in cream cheese is cheating and they will only eat cream cheese made the “old-fashioned” way. If made without stabilizers, cream cheese may be more crumbly than spreadable, and it has a relatively short shelf life, even when kept refrigerated.

Bagels topped with cream cheese, called schmear in Yiddish, are of course a classic use of the cheese. Cream cheese with additional flavorings has also become popular, especially when served with bagels. Philadelphia Brand offers herbed, strawberry, pineapple, and onion flavored cream cheese in tubs. Whipped cream cheese does spread easier, but it usually does include stabilizers and is sometimes sold under the name Neufchatel, which does not at all resemble European Neufchatel cheese. Low fat cream cheese may also be called Neufchatel because it depends upon stabilizers.

Recipes including cream cheese abound. These include the beloved cheesecake, cream cheese frosting, use of cream cheese in dips and spreads, and cream cheese added to omelets. One delightful dish alternates cream cheese with layers of pesto and sundried tomatoes. Another popular use of cream cheese is as a bottom layer for raspberry Jell-O.

In spite of being cheese, cream cheese has a fairly low protein content as compared to hard cheeses. A one-ounce (28 g) serving of cream cheese offers up a measly gram of protein. Traditional cream cheese can also be quite high in saturated fat, containing as much as 40% fat. It fortunately contains no trans fats, so it does have its redeeming qualities. Philadelphia has been effective in marketing cream cheese as better than butter, because it is lower in fat than butter. This is certainly true, and cream cheese it is argued, tastes a lot more exciting than butter.