MAKING MASCARPONE
©David B. Fankhauser, Ph.D.
Professor of Biology and Chemistry
U.C. Clermont College
Batavia OH 45103
 
Add acid solution to 185 F cream
First posted 29 May 2003
File "mascarpone.HTM" was last modified on 21 Nov 2005.
This page has been accessed  Counter times since 29 May 2003.

Hang the precipitated cream to drain

Mascarpone originated around 1600 in Lombardy of North Italy Southwest of Milan. Some say the name came from "mas que bueno" (Spanish for "better than good") when the Spanish ruled Italy.  It is made from light cream (25% butterfat) which has been thickened by the addition of tartaric acid to product a rich creamy product which is spreadable. By the way, as a friend of Italian descent urged me to point out, the correct pronunciation is "mahs-car-PO-nay."

I have learned with the assistance of readers of these pages, that tartaric acid is found in the sediment of fermented wine along with settled yeast. It was also possibly harvested off the sides of wine kegs, formed as an encrustation. The word tartar may come from the Arabic word durd meaning dregs.

Mascarpone can be used alone or with sugar added.  Perhaps it is most famous as an ingredient in tiramisu, the Italian "rocket fuel" coffee-flavored cake. It is often used in place of butter to thicken and enrich rissoti.

     

    Ingredients: Equipment:
    one quart of light cream 
    Light cream can range between 18 and 30% butterfat.  For mascarpone, it should contain 25% butterfat.
    (I mix 16 oz heavy cream with 16 oz half and half.)

    1/4 teaspoon tartaric acid
    (or 1/2 tsp Acid Blend from L.D. Carlson, available at wine making supply houses)

    		 stainless steel double boiler with lid 

    sterile handkerchief sterilized by boiling and hanging to dry thoroughly

    1 quart bowl to catch the whey

    PROCEDURE:

    1) Warm 32 ounces of light cream in a stainless steel double boiler to 185 degrees Fahrenheit (85 Celsius).

    2) Dissolve 1/4 teaspoon of tartaric acid in 2 Tbl of water.

    3) Stir the dissolved tartaric acid into the hot cream, stir well.  It should start to thicken almost immediately. Maintain the 185 F for five minutes, stirring occasionally.

    4) Refrigerate covered for 12 hours in the stainless steel inner pot (or transfer to a clean plastic container with lid).  The whey should separate somewhat in that time.

    5) Transfer to a sterile handkerchief, and suspend over a bowl for 24 hours in the refrigerator to allow the whey to drain out.

    6) Transfer the finished mascarpone to a smaller air tight container, store in the refrigerator, use within a week or two.
     


    I have received an email from Fil and Pat in Quebec which reports that mascarpone was originally made with lemon juice. I now doubt the authenticity of this, but have wondered where ancient Italians would have gotten tartaric acid... (See intro above.) I have calculated that 1/4 teaspoonful of tartaric acid should be equivalent to approximately 2 tablespoonfuls (30 mL) of lemon juice. Fil and Pat report back that 2 Tbl in a quart of 18% butterfat cream made perfect mascarpone! Yea.

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    File "mascarpone.HTM" was last modified on 21 Nov 2005.File "mascarpone.HTM" was last modified on 16 Nov 2005.


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