Tribal People Try Cheesecake

Every time the tribe has tasted cheesecake: 9 videos of first impressions from villagers in rural Punjab, Pakistan, usually American food they have never seen before.

Also covers: new york cheesecake, basque cheesecake

What it is

Cheesecake is a dense, sweet, tangy filling of cream cheese on a biscuit base — New York style is baked; many home versions are set in the fridge. It is one of the most-watched dishes on the channel.

What to watch for

Cream cheese has no equivalent in South Asian sweets, so the tang surprises people who expected something like a milk-based mithai. The texture — cold, smooth, heavy — wins more often than the flavour on the first bite.

The village comparison

The nearest local sweets are paneer-based: ras malai and chum chum have the same fresh-dairy richness without the sourness. That comparison comes up in nearly every cheesecake video.

If you cook it: Room-temperature cream cheese, low oven, and leave it in the switched-off oven to cool slowly so the top does not crack.

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