The variety of New York style cheesecake recipes exists mainly in the slight variations in the base ingredients of the recipes. Some may have a touch more cream, or a touch less. Some others may split between cream and Neufchatel cheese. I've even seen some that attempt to use ricotta cheese, although not with great success.

If you'd like to make some changes in the basic composition of your own New York style cheesecake recipe, you're free to experiment. However, bear in mind that you need to keep the proper proportion of ingredients to keep the base texture of the cake smooth, and to keep it from collapsing into cheese soup.

The main source of difference in the recipes is in the "other" dairy fats that go into the recipe. New York style cheesecake is actually rather forgiving, as long as you keep the ratios correct. Let's look at some three of the most popular dairy additions:

Sour cream: This is my own personal favorite accompaniment for the cream cheese. The tanginess of the sour cream mixed with the smoothness of the cream cheese and the sugar makes the palate fairly dance. And as a side benefit, the use of sour cream gives the cheesecake a bit more shelf life. The result of sour cream use is a very smooth, velvety texture with just a bit of resistance to the bite. It is very much in keeping with the traditional New York style cheesecake recipes.

Sweetened condensed milk: For those who like their cheesecake sweet, and I mean really, really sweet, this is the route to follow. A cheesecake made with sweetened condensed milk, such as Eagle brand or one of the many house brands, will be the sweetest of all the New York style cheesecake recipes. In fact, it may well be too sweet for some palates.

Buttermilk: Yes, believe it or not, there are daring individuals who try to make cheesecakes with buttermilk. The less said about these poor fools the better.

Sour cream is the traditional cheesecake addition, but feel free to experiment!