Philadelphia

When used for cooking or as an ingredient, here is no discernible difference between brands. Eaten out of hand as-is may be a different story :-) And many times the house brands are just a national brand that has been repackaged specifically for that retailer.

Don't know that I've ever bought cream cheese of any brand except for possibly a dip mix to take somewhere or for a special occasion dish but... I typically try an "off" or store brand after I've tried the name brand thing and then make a comparison of the two for taste, texture, etc. The best product for my uses and taste tends to be the one that ends up in my pantry regardless of price or brand.

Many store or off brands tend to be ok for me but the one that really irks me is canned green beans (which I don't like anyway but keep for that one instance when I need some green beans in a hurry). The off brands tend to have what seems like extreme amounts of salt (which I drain liquid and rinse off after opening) and more than an acceptable amount of stems. Yes, I can pick out the stems and rinse the beans but why should I have to?

It can't hurt to try it. Cream cheese keeps and keeps. If you're anxious about the risk you could try the house brand to try and a Philly for backup in case you really don't like it. I've tried other brands I didn't like and always come back to Kraft Philadelphia, but the Walmart could be superior to them, or made by Kraft.

I use store brands - cream cheese is cream cheese, same as milk, eggs, butter, sour cream, cottage cheese, etc. They all have guidelines as to the content, percent of fat, USDA grade, etc. Some are very much lower priced and when mixed with anything they really taste the same, to me.

This is one of those topics where opinions can really vary. I've used Philly's, TJ's and my regular grocery store's brand for both cream cheese icing and cheesecake. No difference. Just made a cheese spread yesterday with TJ's cream cheese. Tastes exactly the same as with Philly's.

I only use Philadelphia brand. There is less flavor in the W-M brand and I am very fussy about my cheesecakes.

There are some things I use the store brand. But I tried the store brand cream cheese & never again. I use Philly.

I use the WM brand a lot -- I'e never tried them side by side so perhaps there is a difference but tasting one one week and another the next -- I can't tell any difference!

I've never seen Great Value cream cheese here. Baking, it would be fine probably. I don't like GV cheddar etc.

I find generic, and especially Walmart generic, to be hit or miss. If I buy name brand, it is always the same unless they change the formula. Walmart is bad about changing the supplier of their brand at any time. I may like one I buy, but if they can save a half penny, they will swap suppliers. So the cream cheese or catsup, or beans you buy one time will not be the same the next. They also seem to get the "seconds" or it will slightly thinner than the name brand.

I have had fairly good luck with Publix brands, but even then, some I haven't liked. Fortunately, I can spend the little extra so far to get the constant taste I like. I buy the same brand each time for everything I buy. (And I found out this spring why, when I had to get different paper towels and toilet paper!)

Looks like the Walmart brand has several different types of vegetable gum, and Philly brand has only carob bean gum, and the Walmart brand is lower in calories and sodium..

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Great-Value-Cream-Cheese-8-oz-2-count/41592222

Vs.

Interesting. Several years ago I did try a store brand, don't recall which store. However, myself and my family did not believe it tasted as good as Philadelphia. That one time was my only deviation from Philadelphia.

I use Aldi brand all the time. I even keep it frozen for when I need it for cooking.

Sue

Then there's bagels. :). For them, the deli made whipped is best, IMO, (I’ve whipped it myself but the flavor isn't as good as the deli’s). For events, the huge tub house brand from the catering supply is pretty good, tastes right. I haven’t had any other grab from the shelf that was good except Zausner’s. WF 365 is edible. The packaged Philly whipped is weird tasting. Kind of metallic. But for baking, I only like the Philly block. I’ve also tried making cream cheese, but it's different.

Thank you all for your comments. I think I am going to stick with the Philadelphia cream cheese. Maybe sometime I will experiment and see how the Walmart brand stands up.

I've tried several brands and always go back to Philly for better texture and taste.

I agree with an above poster that one difference may be in the amount of filler that is in the store brands of cream cheese. I only use cream cheese once in a while and prefer to buy the original Philly brand.

And fat free or reduced fat cream cheese is a abomination, in my opinion. I would just rather enjoy less of the real thing. The fat gets replaced by fillers and that tastes like eating plastic and has an awful texture and behaves in a most unnatural manner when subjected to heat, such as a warm toasted bagel.

the real stuff, or none

Because of this thread, when I ordered groceries yesterday, I added a package of Walmart cream cheese. DH is needing calories so I made soup last night that calls for 8 oz of cream cheese. I had 6 oz of Philly. I used 2 oz of WMT. Granted, that is a small amount to test, but I couldn’t tell a difference. I did notice that there were chunks of cream cheese in the soup that weren’t melting, but I have no way of knowing which brand it was.