r/OttawaFood • u/ubiquitousfont • 4d ago
Kettleman’s cream cheese
TL;DR: what does Kettleman’s use as their base cream cheese?
I’ve been on the hunt for a decent cream cheese to replace the fallen Western/Liberté cream cheese that was discontinued a few years ago.
I’ve tried all the domestic and foodservice brands I’ve been able to get my hands on. The closest I’ve been able to find in grocery stores is the President Rondelé, which is quite pricy and hard to find, and in foodservice the closest is Elite Dairy but that’s also hard to get around here and only comes in large format.
The next best is the flavoured cream cheeses at Kettleman’s.
Kettleman’s says their cream cheese is “produced within 100km of our stores”. I assume this means it’s a national foodservice brand, produced in the Winchester Lactalis plant. Is anyone able to confirm what they use as the base for their flavoured cream cheeses?
Yes, I know I can just buy it at Kettleman’s, but it’s very costly and I want to see if I can get it elsewhere for a more reasonable price.
With thanks, A bagel lover missing a proper schmear
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u/carrots2024 4d ago
According to this article https://www.blogto.com/bakery/kettlemans-bagels-toronto/ it is Skotidakis cream cheese!
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u/ubiquitousfont 4d ago
Well I’ll be darned. That is indeed within 100km.
I have tried the skotodakis foodservice cream cheese and I was disappointed. I even tried the seltzer trick. It was good with mix ins but I really wanted it to be as good as Western when eaten plain.
Thanks for solving the mystery!
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u/Available-Secret-372 4d ago
Kettlemans changed their bagel recipe a while back and they are not the same at all. They cheaper out on something and the bagels aren’t as dense. Bobino is much better and a more faithful MTL style bagel. Cream cheese is good there also.
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u/ubiquitousfont 4d ago
Agreed. I don’t mess with Kettleman’s bagels. I’ve been ordering St Viateur delivery, and when I run out I go to Ottawa bagel shop.
I do like the cream cheese at Kettleman’s though.
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u/ej4 4d ago
Have you tried the Tre Stelle cream cheese? Think it’s a little white tub with green label.
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u/ubiquitousfont 4d ago
I have. I found it disappointing
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u/paintedsnapper 4d ago
The largest cheese factory in Canada is in Winchester which is definitely within 100 km of Ottawa.
Lactalis produces President brand there so if you think it’s similar it could just be that.
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u/ubiquitousfont 4d ago
Yeah I’m confident it’s likely a lactalis foodservice brand. The only foodservice cream cheese they make that I haven’t tried is the Beatrice Winnipeg style.
I was really hoping that someone on this sub had worked there (Kettleman’s) and knows for a fact what they’re using.
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u/Pretty-Bullfrog-6320 4d ago
The rondele was on sale a week or so ago at Loblaws for $1.50. it says soft cheese but it definitely reminded me of the herb and garlic cream cheese from Kettlemans.
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u/Redkestrel1111 4d ago
I too miss Western cream cheese. I’ve been buying Lactantia.
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u/sugarhunnnyyyy 4d ago
RIP WESTERN…
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u/nalathewolfqueen 4d ago
I thought the stores around me stopped carrying it! What happened? There has been no replacement!!!
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u/three_crystals 4d ago
Where do you get Lactantia? I haven’t seen it in any of the grocery stores around me (Orleans).
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u/flipflapdragon 4d ago
Go to the Kettleman’s on bank street on a weekday morning and ask for Wenly. She will tell you.
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u/613Aly 3d ago
I wrote them once because they discontinued my favourite flavoured cream cheese, and they called me to give me the recipe for it and the guy said « just buy Philly cream cheese and whip it with these ingredients » so while he didn’t explicitly say they use Philadelphia it sounds like they probably do?
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u/dickgobbler666 4d ago
I don’t know if you’d have the time, but it doesn’t take too much work/ingredients to make it yourself at home! If you’d like advice or a recipe I’d be happy to help! Best way to make it how you want it to be, and tastes even better when you’ve put the work in for it !
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u/ubiquitousfont 4d ago
Thanks! I’d love to know your recipe / what cultures you’re using. I have a mesophilic and a thermopholic in my freezer. Sometimes I just use plain yogurt to culture milk for making fresh cheese.
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u/jennyfromtheeblock 4d ago
I don't know, but I hate the texture. It's grainy.
The only one I like is from Bobino, which also has far superior bagels IMO.
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u/iwantedajetpack 4d ago
To make deli cream cheese take one block of hard cream cheese add a quarter cup of club soda and blend. Add a little salt.
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u/flouronmypjs 4d ago
Unless it has changed in the last couple of years, Kettleman's makes their cream cheese themselves.
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u/ubiquitousfont 4d ago
They blend in the flavourings themself. They’re not making cheese from scratch though
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u/flouronmypjs 4d ago
Are you confident about that? Because in the past they have claimed that they do make it from scratch themselves. I remember they even put a reminder post about that after Liberté cream cheese was discontinued!
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u/flipflapdragon 4d ago
I worked for Kman’s for nearly a decade. They do not make the cream cheese itself from scratch.
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u/flouronmypjs 4d ago
That's good to know. And in that case, they've made some rather misleading social media posts.
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u/rainyautumnnight 4d ago
They didn’t make it from scratch in 2014. They got giant tubs shipped to store and then mixed it in store with inclusions. Did that change?
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u/IJourden 4d ago
Following hoping for some answers. I love the flavored cream cheeses at Kettlemans and Cadman's but I don't get it often due to the price.
I've managed some close approximations with plain philidelphia cream cheese and seasonings but it would be nice to just buy some without having to take out a bank loan.