What is Mascarpone Cheese?
Recently we had a question asked – What is Mascarpone Cheese?
Mascarpone cheese is an Italian cheese made from cow’s milk and it has a creamy texture which is delightfully rich. It’s a bit like butter and a little bit like cream cheese. In fact, it may be accurately described as a sort of a hybrid of cream cheese and butter. Since it offers so much texture, it’s a wonderful complement to a lot of recipes.
For example, when you add Mascarpone cheese to risotto, you’ll give it extra creaminess and a sophisticated touch of flavor which makes it very decadent and interesting.
What Does Mascarpone Cheese Taste Like?
The taste of Mascarpone cheese is subtle and delicate. Most people find it delicious and it’s definitely got a true gourmet vibe! The first Mascarpone cheeses were crafted in Italy. This is why you’ll find this cheese in so many traditional Italian recipes, from savory pasta bakes to tiramisu and beyond.
Marscarpone cheese isn’t a cheap ingredient. It’s a gourmet ingredient. However, you should be able to find it for a decent price. Search for a manufacturer which is trusted and established. It’s usually sold in small plastic tubs and then scooped out with a spoon or butter knife. It must be refrigerated and it will have an expiry date.
These days, people make this cheese all over the globe. You’ll find it at most grocery stores. To get started with Mascarpone Cheese, just spread it on your favorite bread. It’s good on toast, too. Some people find that this cheese is a little bland when used as a spread. Its flavor is so delicate that it may not have enough zing to please some people’s palates.
However, you should know that adding a bit of fresh fruit preserve or fruit jam (or jelly) to the cheese, after you spread it on bread or toast, will create an ideal flavor profile.
Fruit and Marscarpone cheese on bread (or toast) will offer a perfect balance of sweetness, saltiness, creaminess and chewiness.
Once you experiment with this Italian cheese as a spread, you may want to move onto creating comforting and palate-pleasing Italian recipes which include Mascarpone.
More Facts About Mascarpone Cheese
This regional food product of Italy is Italian cream cheese which gains unique texture and flavor via the addition of acidic ingredients. Citric acid, lemon juice, acetic acid and vinegar are examples of acidic ingredients which are utilized in order to coagulate Mascarpone cheese.
After the cheese is denaturized, its whey is taken away. No aging or pressing is required in order to remove the whey.
In some cases, the cheese may be made with leftover tartaric acid from barrels where wine was created. Cream will also be used for this particular type of Mascarpone-making.
This cheese has a white hue and it’s very soft, so it’s highly spreadable. You’ll find it in a lot of regional and traditional dishes from Lombardy. It’s also a main ingredient in the beloved Italian sweet treat, tiramisu.
Why Not Try It Today?
A lot of people aren’t familiar with this cheese. They’ve never heard of it or tried it. This is a shame, because it’s so singular in terms of texture and taste. For this reason, we definitely think that you should give it a try. You’ll find that it really delivers in terms of creaminess and flavor.
We like it best in risottos, pasta bakes and Italian desserts. However, it’s really very versatile.
If you want to have fun with this cheese, you should look up some recipes which include Mascarpone cheese and give one a try.
You may want to start with the famous Tiramisu! Give it a try!
