Shavuot 5786
Shavuot is one of those Jewish holidays whose date range on the Gregorian calendar always seems wider than others. It can be in May or June; Memorial Day or Flag Day; the final weeks of school or summer vacation.
I like the confluence this year of the holiday falling during Jewish American Heritage Month (inaugurated on the 350th anniversary of Jews arriving in New Amsterdam) — because the classic Shavuot cheesecake is actually an American invention. You know the one — smooth, dense, a light tang and absolutely decadent. A first bite that, like Proust’s Madeleines, is transportive.
I can tell you that the central European “Käsekuchen” tastes nothing like this. Its crumblier texture is studded with raisins and has a slightly water-logged mouthfeel (maybe I never had the good fortune of tasting a good one?).
Don’t get me wrong. Cheesecake has a long and varied history, stretching back to the ancient Greeks. But according to Jewish food historian Gill Marks, the version we love today is relatively modern, from the early 20th century, based on the 1872 invention, in New York State, of cream cheese.
It really took off in the 1930 because, writes Marks in his Encyclopedia of Jewish Food, in the late 1920s producers began adding stabilizers that prevented the cheese from breaking up during baking, hence ensuring the silky smooth texture we associate with what is now known as the New York-style cheesecake.
My go-to version, courtesy of restaurant critic and former “MasterChef Australia” host Matt Preston, even includes heavy cream to banish any doubt of graininess, the fear of any good cheesecake baker (and sampler!).
Here’s a fun Colorado-related tidbit from Marks (pardon the mental stretch): Famed journalist Damon Runyon, who cut his teeth in Colorado, helped popularize the dessert. A deli in New York’s Theater District, Lindy’s, popularized the dessert and added that ubiquitous strawberry-in-gel topping.
Damon Runyon incorporated the treat into his stories. It makes an appearance in “Guys and Dolls,” which is based on Runyon’s “The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown,” when Nathan Detroit attempts to entice Sky Masterson to wager on whether Mindy’s (aka Lindy’s) sells more cheesecake or strudel.
So in honor of Jewish American History Month, this Shavuot, make sure it’s a New York-style cheesecake that graces your table.
© IJN 2026
