I would whip with a mixer after softening it (by taking from foil pack and microwaving at 10% power until it's very soft), then beating it with a mixer. Then if you have a whisk attachment on your mixer or stick blender, whip it with the whisk (or regular beaters) while gradually adding a little milk. I think the secret is to not add milk until it's already whipped. The milk will lighten it a bit more and make it fluffy.

I'm thinking a very small amount of milk - maybe just a couple of teaspoons at first...?

I was also wondering just the other day, how to whip my own cream cheese. I thought that maybe I could add some sour cream or whipping cream. I'm like you, the price was scaring me off! HA!

It needs probably a hand mixer and aerated. I'm guessing commercially it is whipped to fluff it and incorporate lots of air. I doubt by hand would get you there.

I’ll try the mixer. I don’t mind hauling it out: I’m motivated! I have whipping
cream on hand too, which I could try in place of milk: but it’s opened and a
week old: so likely too old to use.

The cream I buy is so ultra pasteurized it lasts for a very long time.
Just leave the cream cheese out on the counter until it's room temperature.....and whip it with maybe 2 teaspoons of cream.

I've not done it with milk, but I know cream lightens it up. Been a while, but I think I had to add more like a couple of tablespoons.

sleevendog - I am barely awake this morning, but your post was fascinating! Who knew? Now I want to try whipping garbanzo bean liquid just for the fun of it... =)

NYTimes, aquafaba meringues

I'm curious but have not tried it. It's a vegan thing.

I did it last night. The package had been left out most of the day to soften. I used a hand-held electric beater rather than my stand mixer, which only fits 2 larger bowls. This way I could use a small bowl and get into all the corners well. I beat it for several minutes on the highest setting. It looked pretty creamy as it was. I then trickled in ~ 2 t of milk.

I could tell it was fluffy though not as aerated as the Philly whipped. Still pretty good, though. How much more do I want to pay for air???

I packed it into the tub I had emptied yesterday of the Philly Whipped. The volume of the 8 ounce package I had whipped came to almost the same volume to fit in the 8 oz tub. Marginally less.

This morning I took it out to use on my banana bread, and though it had stiffened
slightly in the cold of the refrigerator, it still spread easily.

Fluffiness varies between brands: I often have bought the store brand on sale. Some are not fluffy and aerated, just creamy and easy to spread. Mine when chilled is fluffy but not AS fluffy. It’s possible I could have beaten it more for greater fluffiness, but I’d chosen a small bowl for beater coverage and was running out of space. If I do it again it needs a larger / deeper bowl.

Just like the packaged block, though, I expect this will get moldy quickly, way before I’ve used it all (unless I can freeze part). I’m the only person who uses it. The Philly whipped contains other ingredients; stabilizers, various gums. But the label on my carton also states that it contains, “natamycin, a natural mold inhibitor”. (I see Sleevendog's carton does not)

I’ve noted before that other brands mold quickly and others don’t – without recording which did and which didn’t - so the ones that don’t mold, or mold slowly, must also contain mold inhibitors. The original Philly whipped in this carton did not mold at all, and I’m the only one that uses it, so I keep it a fairly long time

Therefore the mold factor will affect if this is a viable option to save money by whipping your own. If more people in the household use it, then it can be.

That said, I think I’ll go spread another slice of banana bread….

"The package had been left out most of the day to soften." I'd be more worried about this than the freshness of your cream. That's why I suggested softening in the microwave - at a very low power so as to not melt it. Cream cheese should be kept refrigerated. I wouldn't be eating it if it sat out most of the day, especially since you won't be cooking it (like in a cheesecake).

"US Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service always
recommends keeping refrigerated foods like cream cheese out of the
so-called 'danger zone,' which is essentially room temperature, for extended periods of time. That's because disease-causing bacteria like E.coli
grow fastest between 40°F and 140°F. So according to the food safety
experts at the US government, cream cheese shouldn't be out of the
fridge for longer than two hours."

If your cheese has not been contaminated it's fine. And with all the preservatives in today's cream cheese, I would worry even less.

I was going to suggest leaving a small amount of the cream cheese out on the counter at night so it would be soft in the morning.

My house is very cold, and the granite counter even colder! Still I shouldn't have left it out that long. I kept thinking I was going to get to it any minute.

Of all the "stuff" that causes food borne illnesses....cream cheese....and olives are very near the bottom of the list.
I won't buy ground chicken....won't eat it and don't want it in my kitchen...cream cheese left unrefrigerated for 24 hours? no probs!

Well, there appears to be no preservatives in brick cream cheese (except some salt)...from Sleevendog's post above: Ingredients: Pasteurized Milk and Cream, Salt, Carob Bean Gum, Cheese Culture.

I would never eat something that food safety experts say shouldn't be left out of refer over 2 hours that had been on the counter for many more than that. But we all have our comfort zones about what we feel is safe and what we are willing to risk. That said, I'm glad you posted again Linnea....I was worried the cream cheese had done you in! :-)

But isn't 'cheese culture' itself a natural preservative?

I would certainly use the cream cheese (left overnight on the counter) if it was an un-opened, i.e., still sealed in foil, packet.

But if you're worried about it, use it cold out of the refrigerator. Pop it into the Kitchen Aid with a whisk attachment and beat it for a while before amending w/ cream or milk. The friction from beating it will generate heat and soften it up. Just takes a while longer. (Friction is how a Vita-Mix makes hot soup.)

Olychick is correct. Cream cheese fits the 40-140 category. 2 hours at room temp is standard but I would not mind 4hrs. It is so stiff most find it difficult to spread. Hence their 'whipped' offering I guess.

No different than leaving out cream or cottage cheese overnight but who would?

No argument. Just do as you wish. It only makes sense than overnight would be fine but not recommended. Link...still tasty?

I think we have become so used to having our food sources possibly contaminated that the manufacturers are doing a huge CYA on the recommendations.
You can make your own cream cheese....but warning it involves unrefrigerated milk and cream for 12 hours while the culture grows....and you will need to leave it out another 5 or 6 hours to drain.
Cheese needs to be aged in a cool place....most cheeses...but when it has developed it's fine at room temp.
Cheese is funny stuff....it won't "set" if there is any antibiotics at all in the milk used.....and if you are using pasteurized milk, you need to add a culture. As cheese ages it gets more acedic ( that's a very general statement) and less friendly for harmful bacteria to grow....check on line and see the number of cheese makers that ship their aged cheeses through the mail....without ice packs!

It WAS an un-opened, i.e., still sealed in foil, packet. I have been eating it ever since I made it. Tummy is fine!

I actually do make one of my own cheeses: mascarpone. I took a cheese making class some years back but the cheeses we made all involved a purchased culture and were the kind of cheeses I don't buy in the first place. Mascarpone doesn't need a culture, and THAT I was interested in making, so I found directions online.

In the later draining phase I tie it up to drain more whey. It's outside the fridge for as many hours as I need it to be until it stops oozing whey. Usually around 6 hours. It won't drain nearly so much if I tried to do that in the refrigerator. No one's gotten sick yet.

I would think ambient temperature is big factor in how long something can sit unrefrigerated. I keep a couple of thermometers around the house & refer to them often.

For pregnant women:

"Soft, mould-ripened cheeses, such as Brie, Camembert and Chevre, should be avoided because of the risk of listeriosis. But soft cheeses such as cottage cheese, Ricotta, Mascarpone and Philadelphia are totally fine for your lunchtime sammie as long as you check they are pasteurised, advises the NHS".

Cream cheese sitting unrefrigerated all day when ambient temp.s are 77+ would more likely be cause for concern - esp. if it had been opened. That does not seem to be the case here.

the reason for the warning about soft cheeses are usually made from raw milk and that's where the lysteria danger lies.

Laws now state that no cheese made from raw milk can be imported unless it has been aged for a time...I forget the number of days. . Cream cheese is mADE FROM PASTEURIZED MILK.

PLEASE EXCUSE THE RANDOM STUFF...NEW laptop and my fingers don't know wher to go...an d i don't kn ow how to

undo the italics, nor stop the double space