Cream Cheese

Cream cheese is a popular topping on bagels. It originates in England, and it's first known arrival as a bagel topping was in 1920, when Philadelphia started making it in the United States.

History
The first known references to cream cheese were in England in 1583, but the first actual recipes came around 1754, mostly in the Lincolnshire area.

It moved to America, and became popular when Philadelphia and other businesses started making it. In 1873, William Lawrence, a New Yorker, added cream to it. He then bought the Neufchatel factory and and began mass-producing what he now called 'cream cheese'. Up until then, it was mostly made on farms.

Many others began doing the same, and now we have cream cheese in almost all parts of the world.

Varients
Many different condiments are added to cream cheese. Some more popular condiments are strawberry, plain, blueberry, olive, onion, and jalapeno.

Strawberry and blueberry cream cheeses are usually best on sweet bagels, such as cinnamon and blueberry. Jalapeno cream cheese is reserved for the brave, and usually best on jalapeno bagels, or plain bagels. Olive cream cheese is made several ways, one being to blend it into a paste, another leaving the olives whole, and a third slicing it with a pairing knife.

Several more unique flavors include roasted red pepper cream cheese, bacon scallion, and wasabe galanga.

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