Your Favorite Cream Cheese Was Just Named Best in the World

We feel validated.

If you looked in your fridge right now, we’d bet you have a block or tub of cream cheese in there. Whether you’re making cream cheese frosting, enchiladas, a simple bagel, or practically any slow cooker meal, cream cheese is a staple ingredient.

We’d even go as far as to say we can probably guess the brand of cream cheese you’ve got sitting in your fridge. That’s because unlike other dairy products—like butter, milk, and cheese—there really aren’t that many cream cheese brands to choose from.

However, it’s still validating to know that the Allrecipes community’s favorite cream cheese has just been named the best in the world in the 2024 World Champion Cheese Contest.

Philadelphia Named Best Cream Cheese

KraftHeinz’s Philadelphia Cream Cheese has been named “Best in Class” for cream cheese brands worldwide.

The World Champion Cheese Contest is hosted by the Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association annually. While its main focus is on the best cheeses—in many categories, like Cheddar, mozzarella, and even pasteurized process cheese slices—there are a few other dairy categories, including butter, yogurt, and, of course, cream cheese.

Philadelphia’s cream cheese took first place with a near-perfect score of 99.87.

We’re not too surprised that the creamy, tangy, OG cream cheese won. It’s always been first place in the Allrecipes community’s hearts—showcased by Philadelphia dominating our Community Choice Awards Cream Cheese category in 2023.

What raised our eyebrows, however, was the brand that came in second place in the World Champion Cheese Contest: Tillamook Brick Cream Cheese.

It’s not that Tillamook isn’t a high-quality brand—because it took home a few more awards at the contest, too. Rather, we’re pleasantly surprised because Tillamook’s cream cheese just launched in January of this year. We told you Philadelphia was going to have some competition—and, obviously, the new cream cheese is pretty great, clocking in at 99.7 points.

The World Champion Cheese Contest isn’t just about name brands, though. One store brand made the list, placing third with 99.65 points: Kroger’s Plain Cream Cheese Bar. Kroger’s Original Cream Cheese is priced at just $1.99, so there’s a world-class cream cheese for everyone and every budget.

Now that the World Champion Cheese Contest has just given Philadelphia its flowers for its cream cheese, maybe it’s time we introduce those judges to the incredible No Bake Cheesecake Filling. That has to be best in class, right?

Read the original article on All Recipes.