Mascarpone (pronounced mahs-car-POH-nay), an Italian double or triple cream cheese, may be best known as an essential ingredient in tiramisu, an Italian coffee and chocolate dessert. But this sweet and silky cow's milk cheese adds rich texture to savory dishes too, a quality achieved by its especially high percentage of saturated fat. Mascarpone originated in the Lombardy region of Northern Italy during the Renaissance.
Mascarpone is an ivory-colored, exceptionally smooth, and easily spreadable fresh cream cheese. The flavor is milky and slightly sweet. The rich, buttery texture comes from the high butterfat content (up to 75 percent). Mascarpone costs more than domestic cream cheese, although products from U.S. brands producing it in the Italian style are less expensive than imported ones. You can find both in many large grocery stores in the dairy or cheese section or at specialty cheese shops.
Mascarpone vs. Cream Cheese
Mascarpone has at least twice as much fat as American cream cheese, which gives it a richer, almost melt-in-your-mouth quality. You can use the two interchangeably, but you should expect differences in both flavor and texture. American cream cheese tends to be firmer with a tangier flavor. Some dessert recipes call for portions of each.
How Mascarpone Is Made
Commercial producers use the same simple process you can employ at home to make mascarpone, but on a larger scale, of course. Basically, adding acid to fresh cream causes it to coagulate; the resulting curds get gently cooked over a steady heat until they reach the consistency of crème fraîche. Unlike many cheeses that rely on the thickening ability of rennet, an enzyme produced in the stomachs of ruminant animals, mascarpone uses citric or tartaric acid to solidify the cream. Lemon juice works in a home kitchen. After draining the whey, soft, fresh, buttery mascarpone remains. As a fresh cheese, it can be packaged and distributed immediately.
The closest cousins to mascarpone are English clotted cream and French crème fraîche. High-quality creamy ricotta (avoid ricotta with larger curds) or the generally firmer American cream cheese can also substitute for mascarpone, although the result won't be as rich and smooth. To compensate for some of the differences, you can blend the ricotta before you use it, add whipping cream and/or sour cream to American cream cheese, or squeeze a little lemon juice into the mascarpone to cut the richness a bit.
Uses
Mascarpone can be added to both sweet and savory dishes, providing a rich and creamy element. Use it instead of whipped cream to top a bowl of fruit or as a frosting for cakes or cupcakes. Bake it into a cheesecake or swap it for sour cream in banana bread or muffins. For a savory use, add mascarpone to pastasauce or use it in place of cream in nearly any dish. It can also be used to thicken soups, stuff chicken breasts, and as a bagel spread. Drop teaspoonfuls on top of roasted vegetables or mix it into your scrambled eggs. For an easy dip, whisk fresh herbs and garlic into the mascarpone. Or enjoy a big dollop of mascarpone as a light dessert with a sprinkle of cocoa powder, chocolate shavings, or a drizzle of honey on top. Serve it with fresh berries, figs, or simple cookies.
Storage
Mascarpone generally comes in tubs, and it should remain refrigerated. Check the "use by" date on the package for storage time, but it's generally a week. Mascarpone tends to go bad quickly, so use an open container within a few days; return any unused portion to the fridge with the lid tightly sealed. If it develops mold or if its aroma or color is off, discard the entire package.
You can safely freeze mascarpone for a few months, but it will affect the texture, and it might separate when you defrost it. It's best for use in cooked dishes.
Mascarpone Recipes
With mascarpone widely available in grocery stores, it can be your go-to ingredient to make any day feel special.
Baked Rigatoni With Mascarpone
Sweet Honey and Mascarpone Dessert
Mascarpone and Gorgonzola Two-Cheese Pasta Sauce
Limoncello Cake With Mascarpone Frosting
Blistered Blueberry Grilled Cheese With Mascarpone and Brie
Most famous for being the creamy hero of the classic Italian dessert tiramisù, mascarpone is used in a myriad of both savoury and sweet recipes. For example, it features as the main ingredient for the filling of the Sicilian fried pastry dessert, cannoli, as well as in decadent, mascarpone filled tarts.
Mascarpone is made similarly to American cream cheese, but it uses a base of whole cream rather than milk. Like cream cheese, it is a fresh cheese that is not aged before it is eaten. Cream cheese contains at least 33% milk fat, and mascarpone may contain 60-75% milk fat.
Mascarpone cheese is a soft, slightly sweet and a tad bit tart, spreadable cheese often described as an Italian sweet cream cheese. Mascarpone is probably most well-known as the key ingredient in Italian desserts like tiramisu and cannoli.
Mascarpone cheese is a high-fat product. It contains a good amount of fat that can increase cholesterol in your body. A single tablespoon of mascarpone cheese contains approx 20 mg of dietary cholesterol. Therefore, if you have high cholesterol, you should avoid consuming it.
Mascarpone cheese isn't very good to eat by itself (imagine eating a spoonful of butter), but it is perfect to use as an ingredient for savory and dessert recipes alike. Next time you want to try out a recipe calling for mascarpone cheese, give this recipe a try!
The rich, buttery texture comes from the high butterfat content (up to 75 percent). Mascarpone costs more than domestic cream cheese, although products from U.S. brands producing it in the Italian style are less expensive than imported ones.
Directions. Add the heavy cream, mascarpone cheese, and sugar to a small cup and stir gently to begin softening the cheese. Then use a frother or whisk to whip until thick and smooth. Using the L'OR BARISTA System, brew 8oz of L'OR Le Tigre Dark Roast Coffee over ice.
A closed package of mascarpone will last in the fridge until its best-by date. If you've already opened it, the clock starts ticking, and you have around 1 week to use it all up.
Mascarpone has a one-of-a-kind silkiness and a milky flavor profile but ricotta cheese, cottage cheese, full-fat cream cheese, and Requeson cheese are all similar to mascarpone cheese.
We know that mascarpone cheese can transform sweet things like sorbet, carrot cake, lemon pie, cupcakes, and fruit blintzes. But what about creamy pasta, risotto, soups, and roasted vegetables? Turns out mascarpone can work wonders with savory recipes, too.
4. Mascarpone Cheese. Creamy, buttery mascarpone cheese may be relatively high in fat, but it only contains 15 mg of sodium per tablespoon of cheese, according to the USDA.
Drop teaspoonfuls on top of roasted vegetables or mix it into your scrambled eggs. For an easy dip, whisk fresh herbs and garlic into the mascarpone. Or enjoy a big dollop of mascarpone as a light dessert with a sprinkle of cocoa powder, chocolate shavings, or a drizzle of honey on top.
And if you're still looking for ideas on how to use mascarpone, there's always the option of smearing it on crackers or seedy toast. Maybe add a dollop of jam, maybe not—this tangy cheese can shine all on its own.
Mascarpone should be kept in the refrigerator, ideally at temperatures between 34°F and 39°F. This helps to slow bacterial growth and maintain the quality of the cheese.
Mascarpone is a creamy Italian sweet cheese that is an ingredient in tiramisu. While there are no 1-to-1 substitutions that give the precise taste and texture to your tiramisu that mascarpone does, you can substitute whipped heavy cream, cream cheese or a combination of the two.
Introduction: My name is Tyson Zemlak, I am a excited, light, sparkling, super, open, fair, magnificent person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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