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Schmear

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BY The Editors

PUBLISHED March 8, 2022

At the breakfast table, it’s perfectly acceptable to serve up a rectangular brick of Philadelphia cream cheese in its original form. It has the same familiarity as a cylinder of canned cranberry sauce on the Thanksgiving table. A bagel brunch, though, deserves a schmear, which is different from that block of cream cheese. It is more spreadable and creamy, and is the vehicle for flavorful additions. – Cathy Barrow

 

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Schmear

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Makes 9 ounces (255 grams) 1x

Units Scale

Ingredients

  • 8 ounces (225 grams) full-fat cream cheese, softened
  • 2 tablespoons sour cream or crème fraîche
  • 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice

Instructions

  1. In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese, sour cream, and lemon juice, increasing the speed as the ingredients combine, until fluffy, lightened, and spreadable, just 1 to 2 minutes. Alternatively, use a medium mixing bowl anda. stiff spoon to combine and then stir and whip vigorously to aerate and lighten the mixture.
  2. Pack the schmear into a ramekin or two, cover, and chill until ready to serve. It will keep for 1 week in the refrigerator.

– Reprinted from Bagels, Schmears, and a Nice Piece of Fish by Cathy Barrow with permission from Chronicle Books, 2022. Photographs by Linda Xiao.

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