Mascarpone Explained

Mascarpone
Country:Italy
Source:Cow
Texture:Soft

Mascarpone (; pronounced as /it/) is a soft Italian acid-set cream cheese.[1] [2] [3] It is recognized in Italy as a Italian: [[prodotto agroalimentare tradizionale]] ("traditional agri-food product"; PAT).[4]

Production process

After denaturation of cream, the whey is removed without pressing or aging. Mascarpone may also be made using cream and the residual tartaric acid from the bottom or sides of barreled wine.

The traditional method is to use three tablespoons of lemon juice per pint of heated heavy cream. The cream is allowed to cool to room temperature before it is poured into a cheesecloth-lined colander, set into a shallow pan or dish, and chilled and strained for one to two days.[5]

Origins

Mascarpone originated in the Italian region of Lombardy in the area between Lodi and Abbiategrasso south of Milan, probably in the late 16th or early 17th century. Popularly, the name is held to derive from mascarpa, an unrelated milk product made from the whey of stracchino (a young, barely aged cheese), or from mascarpia, a word in the local dialect for ricotta. Unlike ricotta, which is made from whey, mascarpone is made from cream.

Uses

Mascarpone is milky-white in colour and is easy to spread.[6] It is used in various Lombardy dishes and is considered a specialty in the region.[7]

Mascarpone is one of the main ingredients in tiramisu.[8] Sometimes it is used instead of, or along with, butter or Parmesan cheese to thicken and enrich risotto.[9] Mascarpone is also used in cheesecake recipes.[10] [11]

Mascarpone is also commonly used in the UK on pizzas with prosciutto and mushrooms.[12]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Mascarpone Artigianale. 22 September 2011. it. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120402191147/http://www.buonalombardia.it/browse.asp?goto=11980. 2 April 2012.
  2. Web site: Mascarpone. 22 September 2011. Turismo Provincia di Lodi. it. 2004.
  3. Web site: Mastering Mascarpone: What it takes to make a perfect batch of Mascarpone Cheese. 8 April 2015. Tessa Buratto. 2010. San Luis Obispo, CA.
  4. Web site: Elenco dei prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali della Regione Lombardia – Quinta revisione. 22 September 2011. Regione Lombardia. 6. it.
  5. Web site: Making Mascarpone at Home. David B. Fankhauser. U.C. Clermont College-Batavia, OH. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20070409120439/http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/Cheese/mascarpone.HTM. 2007-04-09.
  6. Book: Lidia Matticchio Bastianich. Lidia's Mastering the Art of Italian Cuisine: Everything You Need to Know to be a Great Italian Cook. 27 October 2015. Appetite by Random House. 978-0-449-01623-7. 107–.
  7. Book: Luigi Veronelli. Food of North Italy: Authentic Recipes from Piedmont, Lombardy, and Valle d'Aosta. 23 October 2012. Tuttle Publishing. 978-1-4629-0976-6. 31–.
  8. Book: Jason Atherton. Social Sweets. 18 June 2015. Bloomsbury Publishing. 978-1-4729-2080-5. 87–.
  9. Book: Heston Blumenthal. Further Adventures in Search of Perfection: Reinventing Kitchen Classics. 2007. Bloomsbury. 978-0-7475-9405-5. 140–.
  10. Book: Barbara Fairchild. Bon Appetit Desserts: The Cookbook for All Things Sweet and Wonderful. 14 September 2010. Andrews McMeel Publishing. 978-1-4494-0200-6. 191–.
  11. Book: Victoria Wise. The Pressure Cooker Gourmet: 225 Recipes for Great-Tasting, Long-Simmered Flavors in Just Minutes. 3 December 2004. Harvard Common Press. 978-1-55832-201-1. 329–.
  12. Web site: Sainsbury's Prosciutto Mushroom & Mascarpone Pizza, Taste the Difference 480g . 2024-05-13 . sainsburys.co.uk.

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