Is Philadelphia cream cheese worth it?

[JollyPearlShaker]

Be honest, mums - is Philadelphia cream cheese actually worth the extra money? I keep going back and forth! Trying to decide if it's a worthwhile treat or just clever marketing

Excited to hear Longley farm is real, I thought it was just a brand like those "farms" you see on vegetable packets.

The only one I've tried that's really smooth and creamy like philadelphia is lidls version

Philadelphia is full of additives. And expensive.

Philadelphia lacto free is nicer than most other non dairy or lacto free alternatives but I stilL only buy if on offer as when I use in cooking there’s not a huge difference

Most of the main supermarkets do an own brand cream cheese that has no ingredients except milk. The value options rather than the supermarket standard usually have citrus pulp to bulk them out.

To make a thicker more solid cream cheese, buy a supermarket unadulterated one and press it in cheesecloth. It takes a couple of hours in the fridge.
It is exactly what cheesecloth was named for.

To answer your question: Philadelphia has a marvellous mouthfeel because it is artificially gelatinised with gum. A better product is a simple own brand with or without a little of the water pressed out.

Nope. Own label. Boursin for the savoury eating if you are feeling flush or it's on special offer.

There is an aftertaste off it, I don't like it. I buy tesco own brand

Love the salmon Philadelphia 🍣

I wish you could buy the Philadelphia cheese with Siracha. I had it in Canada and it's delicious on toast. Maybe some day.

There has been quite a few pp referring to the addition of guar gum as being bad for your health. I became a bit concerned because dc and I love Philadelphia cream cheese.

So I googled it and read an interesting article about guar gum written by someone with a Master
of Science degree with a Registered Dietitian designation (MS, RD).

And surprisingly there are multiple health benefits. Sigh of relief.

https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/guar-gum

I prefer Philadelphia brand. Watch for it to go on special.

I love Philadelphia, own brands don't taste as good...although, many years ago Philly also tasted better, creamier I think, they've altered the recipe somehow.

I'm surprised to hear that it goes mouldy for some folk? I've never ever had it go mouldy, even if kept for a while. How strange.

Do you know where still sells pepper boursin?

If this thread was just a lame marketing exercise on behalf of Philadelphia then it backfired spectacularly! The latest post about guar gum is particularly suspect. Bear in mind large food producers are scrambling to fight to protect and promote their ultra-processed food products because the growing awareness of UPFs has them worried af.

What’s the purpose of the guar gum? To make it last longer? Doesn’t seem to have may additives on the whole though.

There is a brand M&S sell that is amazing, way better than Philadelphia. I live overseas now and I buy a supermarket own brand that's also much nicer.

I don't like the slimy texture of Philly, prefer a more crumbly but still creamy texture.

On guar gum:

https://www.psu.edu/news/research/story/refined-dietary-fiber-may-increase-risk-inflammatory-bowel-disease

If you are referring to my pp where I copy and pasted a link titled: Is Guar Gum Healthy or Unhealthy, then no it is not suspect. I am a regular poster on Mumsnet for years. Easy enough to find out with a search. I do not work for, nor am I affiliated with Philadelphia cream cheese in any way and I have never been in the past.

Thx for sharing your link to a study on guar gum in a later post. I read it and found it interesting. This part stood out to me (copy and paste from your linked study):

Researchers noted that limitations of this study included the administration of a higher dose of guar gum than typically consumed daily by humans and the use of mouse models to investigate the relationship between IBD, diet, and microbiota, which may not accurately portray the interactions that occur in humans.

In the article that I linked, it covered that high doses of guar gum have negative health outcomes and can be fatal. It also referred to actual cases and studies that involved interactions of guar gum on actual people rather than mice. It was a well written, balanced article written by an expert who was not in any way affiliated with marketing any products at all.

Did you even read the article I linked in order to assess its validity?

Or did you just immediately jump to an assumption that I was just a part of a lame marketing ploy.

It's definitely real. I went for a job interview there about 15 years ago. The farm is high up on the outskirts of Holmfirth. It's owned by 2 brothers who are slightly eccentric but lovely.

No, they changed it in the early 90s so it stopped being crumbly and it's been rubbish ever since.

It’s awful the capitalism in the western world where the bottom line is literally all companies care about. You really have to advocate for yourself and your health so much, and nobody else- even the government, will look out for your health vs profit. I didn’t know this about guar gum so will be looking at other products which are just cream cheese. Same issue with things like glycerol in slushies ( gave me the worst migraine of my life- only after looking into it did I read about it basically being antifreeze and is detrimental to health- yet they market that to children). And other artificial sweeteners and god knows what else now.

1. You don't need them
2. They are industrial chemicals

You could buy seperate Siracha? Or does that not work?