Block cream cheese. Where to buy?

[Paulineski]

I'm making (or rather hoping to make) a cheesecake from an American recipe book. Please tell me where I can buy the "block" cream cheese in England, rather than the "spreadable" stuff. They aren't the same (although I've seen people claiming they are in a zombie thread on this very topic) — aamongst other things, the spreadable version is 23% fat whereas the true original block version is 30% fat.

The American lady who gave me the recipe said she mistakenly used the spreadable version once and it wasn't the same at all.

I've looked at Sainsbury's, Ocado, M&S and Waitrose with no luck.

If I can't get the block cream cheese I wondered if mixing mascarpone with the spreadable Philadelphia would work—has anyone tried this?

Polish or Turkish shops if you have any near you. Or online maybe uk.foodplus.eu/en_GB/p/Hochland-Cream-Creamy-Cheese-90g/23801?msclkid=87db16610bbf133e22db748e51060b2b

It's ridiculous that we can't easily get the block cream cheese here... You could try straining the tub variety through a cheese cloth (use more that the receipe calls for) - but it's a huge faff.

I remember when Philadelphia came in a block like Lurpak. Can’t help with here you would get it now.

I was about to say Philadelphia used to come like that. It was completely different and much nicer. I haven’t seen cream cheese like that for years in the normal supermarkets though.

Any fancy farm shops near you ?

Thanks all! There is a Roma shop near me so I will try there first (all the packaging is in another language though and the propieter doesn't speak English! so wish me luck!).
What a faff!

That one has an awful lot of stuff in it, and is only 15% fat. Thanks for the suggestion though! I'm looking for numbers more like this (attached info from Philadelphia Original block).

I miss proper cream cheese - it is so different to the tub stuff. You used to be able to get it behind the cheese counter in supermarkets but when I look now I’m always very sadly disappointed ☹️ Do you have any proper Delis nearby?

Bring back Philadelphia in the big blocks! Nicer and foil not plastic

Ooh look 🤗 Could this possibly be the holy grail??! Reviews are encouraging…

I'm not familiar with the block style cream cheese..
I looked on amazon for block cream cheese for baking.. it's bringing up Betty crocker cream cheese style icing?- is that something similar?
Lots of make your own cheese kits!- but that seems a bit extreme.
There's a block of norweigan brown cheese too. No idea if that's any way similar either..
I'm probably absolutely zero use to you, but I like to try to find things for people!

I haven't seen block cream cheese for years, not since the silver paper blocks of Philadelphia. I used to use it for cheesecakes but now use the ordinary stuff BUT I only make chilled cheesecake as opposed to the baked variety and always use gelatine so that gets over the fact that the cream cheese is not as solid as the old stuff used to be.

Not a fan of baked cheesecake so don't know what alternative there is for that.

it's bringing up Betty crocker cream cheese style icing?- is that something similar? Ha ha — no, but thank you for your efforts!

Yes! I miss that so much. They seem to think 'creamier' is better. Bring back crumbly!

Thank you, that does look encouraging! No Asda in my town, but there is one about 20 miles away...

I remember block cream cheese and have mourned its loss. My German born mum used to buy it from the cheese counter at the supermarket. It is much better for making cream cheese icing for carrot cake as it doesn't turn into liquid when you add icing sugar.

There is a "Roma" shop near me with a sort of deli but I'm afraid to buy anything there after going in once for some cheddar and coming out with a packet of processed cheese slices! (I can't understand any of the labels and the proprieter doesn't speak English.) It might be worth another shot though.

It’s not hard to make your own.

It really is so much better. Imagine the uproar if the supermarkets all stopped stocking 'block' butter in favour of all those awful spreads.

Hopefully the cheese counter in our Sainsbury's will repopen soon (it's been closed since 1st lockdown as have the meat/fish counter and the bakery). I seem to have a vague memory of seeing cream cheese there, now that you mention it.

I looked for it at the cheese counter in Waitrose recently, because I also remember it always being there, in a big bowl. But the staff had no idea what I was talking about 🤯. Sorry I can’t help OP. Let us know if you find it!

I mean, this is a pain in the arse, but apparently you can make your own

www.bonappetit.com/story/make-your-own-cream-cheese/amp

Perhaps you're better off looking for "soft cheese" rather than "cream cheese"? Obviously this isn't the kind of retailer or quantity you're looking for, but… www.wellingtonfresh.com/products/cheese-soft-full-fat-30-2kg-allergen

Similar product from Brakes which mentions American recipes and baked cheesecake

www.brake.co.uk/dairy/block-grated-cheese/soft-cheese/spreadable/brakes-american-style-full-fat-soft-cheese/p/74090

Otherwise it's going to be scouring speciality import shops in your area, which may or may not cater for groups that use that kind of cheese… it's weird that it's such a hard thing to find in the UK.

I make a lot of cheesecakes - mainly American, baked recipes, and I use Aldi full fat cream cheese in the flat tubs. I can’t get the old style Philadelphia, but this works perfectly.