Mascarpone

What is Mascarpone Cheese?

Mascarpone is a soft Italian dairy product obtained by acid-heat coagulation of cream. It is not a cheese in the technical sense, since no rennet is used and no true curd forms. Italy lists it as a prodotto agroalimentare tradizionale.

The name is often traced to mascarpa, an unrelated milk product made from the whey of stracchino, or to mascarpia, a dialect word for ricotta. The Lombard journalist Gianni Brera argued for a different route. In his reading the original form was mascherpone, after Cascina Mascherpa in the lower Po Valley, on the border of the provinces of Lodi, Milan and Pavia. One early attestation outside Lombardy dates to 1933 and 1934, when the dairy at Cison di Valmarino near Treviso registered the trademark Mascherpone Valmarino.

Production is short. Tartaric acid powder is dissolved in hot water and stirred into heavy cream held at 350K to 360K, then cooked at that temperature for five minutes. The mixture cools to room temperature, drains in a cheesecloth-lined colander set over a shallow pan, and chills for at least six hours. Whey is removed without pressing or aging. Some makers use the tartaric acid residue left on the sides and bottom of wine barrels.

The finished product is milky white and spreads easily. Lombardy treats it as a regional specialty and uses it across local dishes. It is one of the main ingredients in tiramisu and appears in cheesecake recipes. Cooks stir it into risotto to thicken and enrich it, sometimes in place of butter or Parmesan. In the UK it is a common pizza topping alongside prosciutto and mushrooms.