On April 23, National Cherry Cheesecake Day, we celebrate the creamy delicacy topped with antioxidant-rich cherries. We have always known that it is a classic, but did you know that it dates back to 2,000 B.C.? The cheese-based delicacy has long been a favourite, but it has undergone numerous changes over time. Today, we most frequently envision a cherry cheesecake with a graham cracker or pastry crust, filled with cream cheese, and crowned with nutrient-rich cherries, with a drizzle of thick cherry sauce. We are salivating just thinking about it!
The background of National Cherry Cheesecake Day
Even though cherry cheesecake has been around for millennia, there are countless variations of what constitutes the emblematic dessert today. The crust can be graham cracker, pastry crust, or even sponge cake, and the filling is not always cream cheese. Some recipes substitute cottage cheese for cream cheese and are baked without a pastry. Cherry cheesecake is distinguished by its cherries, which traditionally lay on top and are rich in vitamins and other nutrients. In addition to being delectable, cherries are anti-inflammatory and antioxidant powerhouses!
The ancient Greeks did not add cherries to their cheesecake, but they did serve an early version of the delicacy for thousands of years, even to the first Olympians! Therefore, if you have ever wondered whether it is possible to consume cheesecake and maintain an athletic physique, the answer is yes. The first written cheesecake recipes appeared a few thousand years after the dessert was first purported to have been made.
In the year 1000, cheesecake arrived in Europe. Roman armies stormed into Western Europe and the United Kingdom, carrying the recipe with them! The next cookbook mention of cheesecake in these countries occurred in the mid-1500s, despite the dessert’s popularity and rapid expansion. The cheesecake became a popular and ubiquitous dessert, and the rest is history.
In the late 1870s, a new version of cheesecake emerged with the invention of cheesecake and its promotion to the dessert’s primary component. After less than a decade, Philadelphia Kraft was mass-producing cream cheese, and cheesecake was more accessible than ever. This led to the creation of the beloved New York-style cheesecake, which is characterised by its ingredients: cheese, cream, egg, and sugar. According to many, this is when cheesecake became cheesecake!
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5 Interesting Facts About Cheesecake
This cheesecake, created by Philadelphia Kraft Foods in 2009, is the heaviest cheesecake of all time.
Cheesecake is not actually a cake, but rather a baked cheese custard pie with a crust!
Over the duration of seven years of filming, the “Golden Girls” television show consumed over 100 cheesecakes — that’s over one full cheesecake per month for nearly a decade!
We cannot corroborate this, but legend has it that athletes at the first Olympic games in 776 B.C. were served cheesecake before their events.
The Austrian Postal Service once received cheesecake-flavored stamps from Haagen-Dazs.
NATIONAL CHERRY CHEESECAKE DAY DATES
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | April 23 | Sunday |
| 2024 | April 23 | Tuesday |
| 2025 | April 23 | Wednesday |
| 2026 | April 23 | Thursday |
| 2027 | April 23 | Friday |
