Why do they make it so complicated
By suspenseful
@suspenseful (40192)
Canada
February 7, 2013 3:43pm CST
I have been searching Allrecipes and the other recipe sites for a cheesecake recipe. And I find a lot of ;them are not that simple, and are rather fancy. First I found one that contains three pkge of cheesecake, then I find some that contains 4, but then it does not have the other ingredients I have in the house. When it calls for milk, I only have whipping cream. When it calls for whipping cream, I only have milk. I have a recipe that calls for milk, as well as the cream cheese but it also calls for a liquor. Most of them call for sour cream, but when you add chocolate, liquor, etc. you muddle it up for me.
I go buy a lot of graham crusts, but the one I am looking at has no crust, has milk as well as the ordinary ingredients and I bought a large carton of whipping cream.
So do you have as much problem deciding on what cheesecake recipe as I have?
3 people like this
8 responses
@dawnald (85146)
• Shingle Springs, California
9 Feb 13
I can't really relate to the snowstorm scenario, but I don't have that much patience myself. If I didn't have all the ingredients, and I couldn't find a recipe that just used the ingredients I did have, I'd probably just wait until I could go shopping.
2 people like this
@cynthiann (18602)
• Jamaica
8 Feb 13
Yes, dawn. But which recipe to use when you may not have all the ingredients at hand? This is the problem. Personally, I would not use milk instead of whipping cream but may, just may, make fresh milk sour by adding a toops of vinegar to it. Have you tried that? The whole dilemma is to make the cheese cake with ingredients on hand and not go out in a snowstorm. This is the crux of the matter. Ingredients and snowstorm
2 people like this
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
8 Feb 13
It depends on whether it is shopping day. Not so easy going out in a snowstorm.
@cynthiann (18602)
• Jamaica
8 Feb 13
I have never lived in a cold country such as Canada although I grew up in the U.K. I imaginer that it could be tricky going out in a snowstorm. What kind of protection do you take or do you stock up on food just in case you cannot leave the house?
1 person likes this
@cynthiann (18602)
• Jamaica
8 Feb 13
Also forgot to ask how you manage to shop if there is a snowstorm on your designated shopping day? This must cause you problems
1 person likes this
@cynthiann (18602)
• Jamaica
7 Feb 13
Yes, this can be confusing as there are literally hundreds of recipes for cheese cake. Perhaps you can find a few hours to go carefully through all the recipes and choose one that appears to suit you. Then make a list of the ingredients needed , check your store room and then make a list inpreparation for shopping. I like to make from scratch as I do not like the box cheese cake that is available in the shops. Do you use these at all? Oh, last tip. when you have found the recipe that suits you then you can bookmark it for future reference. Plesase let us know how the cheese cake turned out as we would love to hear about it.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
10 Feb 13
The one I have does not call for a crust. But that is another problem. I broke my lifter and I need one to move it to a plate and I also need something to cover it while it is in the fridge. So much preparation for one cheesecake.
@cynthiann (18602)
• Jamaica
8 Feb 13
Yes, the ones in the shop certainly have a lot of crust - very crusty in fact and sometimes soggily crusty too. Home made ones are much better. Please let us know how it turns out. I hope that the recipe you choose does not have too much crust
1 person likes this
@cynthiann (18602)
• Jamaica
11 Feb 13
Oh dear, please do not give up the challenge even though your lifter is broken. Perhaps you can buy one on your shopping trip? Couldn't you use tin foil to cover it - very losely of course! I have never seen a cheesecake without a crust
1 person likes this
@marguicha (224105)
• Chile
8 Feb 13
I don`t follow recipes to the letter because when I did, I almost got insane
. I use little whipping cream because it is more calorie ladden than milk. I cut whatever I can. I can`t buy easily sour cream, so I use other ingredients. Easy!
. I use little whipping cream because it is more calorie ladden than milk. I cut whatever I can. I can`t buy easily sour cream, so I use other ingredients. Easy!@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
11 Feb 13
I think that using whipping cream would be all right as a substitute. We get sour cream easily here. I do think the recipe I looked at is using sour cream and milk as a substitute for whipping cream because maybe whipping cream was more expensive where the originator of the recipe lived. But here we can get sour cream for cheap. .
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
1 Mar 13
I do not love chocolate cheesecake, but I love dark chocolate. I love making it with lemon and with chocolate cheesecake, it might be like chocolate ice cream. I did finally finish off that cheesecake, a piece a day and think the next time I go to the Home Outfitters, look for a container so I can cut it into triangles and store them in the freezer. I do love almonds, so maybe I will have an almond flavored cheesecake. Have not tried that yet.
@marguicha (224105)
• Chile
1 Mar 13
With cheesecake, I have decided to do as with chocolate. I don`t make cheesecakes just as I don`t buy chocolates because I would eat them all at once. So I ask for cheesecake when I go out to some teahouse where they have it.
1 person likes this
@mariaperalta (19073)
• Mexico
6 Mar 13
I have used that site several times as well. And didnt understand why some easy recipes were like that. But its still a great site.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
19 Mar 13
I think what happens is that they start with a simple recipe and add the ingredients that they happen to have in the house, but they do not realize that not everyone has those ingredients. What they should do is to send their basic recipe and put the extra ingredients as a footnote.
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
19 Mar 13
For instance, I have a single person cookbook from Australia and they have different names for different things and also the only place you can get some of the ingredients are in speciality shops or order them online.
@mariaperalta (19073)
• Mexico
19 Mar 13
Very true, plus some countries dont even sell some of those things needed to cook those things.
1 person likes this
@babyeve (1048)
• Seychelles
8 Feb 13
I also find certain recipes from this site to be very complicated. Much more I live in a small country and therefore not everything are available here to these types of recipes. I like simple recipes that requires simple ingredients to do it. I am not a professional when it comes to cooking, therefore simple recipes works for me.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
12 Feb 13
I have a long walk to get to the grocers and I like simple more then complicated. I think even when you have a social or a party, you do not need to use every single ingredient or find some rare find to put in your cheesecake. After all, it is basic and not something to show off.
@salonga (27775)
• Philippines
8 Feb 13
Yes there are recipes online that are so complicated. They add so many ingredients that are not even found in other recipes of the same kind of food. But whether complicated or simple I would admit.... I am not successful in baking. I can't really perfect it so I think I must first study a short course on baking to make good cakes. Except for banana cakes, all other bakings I did did not really pass my very approval.
So if I would just look and try the recipes online for cheese cake I am pretty sure I won't perfect any so I would rather just buy ready made cheesecakes rather than feel sorry for myself.
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
10 Feb 13
To me a cheesecake should be just cheese, cream or milk,maybe whipping cream, sour cream,; sugar, eggs maybe some flavoring such as lemon or orange zest, a crust of some kind and maybe a fruit sauce with sugar for those who want it. In other words, most of us have those ingredients on hand and we can always buy the cream cheese or if one is making the English kind, get the gelatin.
It took me a while to make a cheesecake and I have to follow the recipes precisely. I can make cookies and cake, but somehow I am surprised they even turn out. I am more of a cook then a baker.
I do wonder about those making those fancy cheesecakes with weird and rare ingredients. I see them taking off their diamond rings and making sure their silk dresses and fur stoles plus their diamond tiaras don't get in the way.
@vernaC (1491)
• Romania
8 Feb 13
I haven't baked cheesecake yet but everytime I'm looking for recipes online, I don't usually follow all the ingredients anymore. If I'm lucky to have some ingredients that's what I only use then I just adjust and modify to cook or bake using the main ingredients. It's just like an experiment, then the next ones you already know what to do, what to use and what to add.
1 person likes this
@suspenseful (40192)
• Canada
11 Feb 13
Maybe I should try that. It is just that cream cheese is so expensive and eggs as well, so when I buy cream cheese it is on sale, and when I buy eggs I just buy enough for myself to have bacon and eggs with one egg every two days. The sugar is easy, I have a lot of that and I hardly buy whipping cream and of course sour cream when it is on sale so I dare not do any experiments as I do not want to throw anything away.
I also have to get a container to store the cheesecake in the freezer. I have those large freezer bags but they are not large enough.
