mascarpone

Mascarpone cheese is a delicate creamy mass that serves as the basis for making desserts (tiramisu, cheesecake) all over the world. The first mention of the product was recorded in the XNUMXth century in the northern region of Italy (Lombardy). Such territorial affiliation of cheese is associated with well-developed agriculture in the conditions of the area. As a result, it became necessary to process milk in order to avoid spoilage of the product.

Mascarpone in Spanish “mas que bueno” means “better than good”. And indeed the taste of soft cheese is difficult to overestimate. It is not sour, with pleasant subtle creamy notes.

This is a perishable product. After opening the package, the cheese remains fresh for 3 days.

The composition of mascarpone includes antioxidants, amino acids, mineral compounds, easily digestible proteins, vitamins A, B, D, PP, C, which have a beneficial effect on the nervous and cardiovascular systems, bone tissue, and immunity.

Harm or benefit

Mascarpone is a product obtained by mixing cream (heated to 80 degrees) removed from cow’s milk in the Parmesan production process with white wine vinegar or lemon juice, which accelerate the curdling of raw materials. These ingredients determine the nutritional value of the product. Since the cheese is made from natural milk, and during the production process it is subjected to gentle heat treatment, it retains a maximum of nutrients.

This is a high-calorie product, 75% of which is triglycerides, which makes it more like an oily cream in consistency. 100 g of mascarpone contains 412 kcal, 42 g of fat and 6 g of proteins and carbohydrates.

Beneficial features:

• strengthens bone tissue, ligaments, muscles;
• improves blood composition;
• activates the immune system;
• slows down tissue aging;
• relieves excessive nervous excitement;
• relieves pain that occurs with arthritis, arthrosis;
• improves the condition of teeth, nails, skin, hair;
• stimulates the brain.

Creamy mascarpone cheese is useful for people suffering from cardiovascular diseases, mood swings, inflammation of the joints, depression, irritability, sleep problems, frequent colds, a tendency to osteoporosis. Creamy paste cannot be frozen, because under the influence of negative temperatures it loses its consistency and vitamin and mineral composition.

Due to the lack of proper sterilization and high fat content, the product is not recommended for small children under 3 years old with a weak digestive system and people with milk intolerance, high cholesterol, overweight, hepatitis, hypertension, kidney and intestinal diseases.

How to cook yourself

Mascarpone is an expensive product (400 rubles per 0,5 kg), resembling thick sour cream in consistency, which is not always found on store shelves. In this case, it is recommended to cook an Italian creamy product on your own at home or purchase its surrogate.

What to substitute for mascarpone cheese

“Ricotta”, “Hello”, “Philadelphia”, “Almette”, “Rama”.

Mascarpone can be made from fat sour cream, cream with cottage cheese or lemon juice. Which of the three recipes to give preference depends solely on individual preferences. Consider the easiest way.

To make cheese, you need only two ingredients: lemon (1 pc) and cream, 25% fat (500 ml).

Sequence of work:

1. Heat the cream in a water bath to 80 degrees.
2. Squeeze lemon juice, measure out 20 ml. Pour into the warmed cream, mix thoroughly, put to languish for another 10 minutes.

Lemon juice starts the processes of milk protein coagulation.

3. When small flakes appear on the surface of the cream, the cheese should be removed from the heat and left for 30-50 minutes. After it becomes warm, the curd mass is separated from the whey with gauze. The cream is squeezed and hung over the pan to drain excess liquid. After an hour, the cheese is transferred to a dish, kept for 12 hours in the refrigerator. Lumps formed during the preparation of homemade mascarpone should be thoroughly kneaded with a fork or broken with a mixer.

The longer the cheese drains, the denser the texture it acquires. The cream is easier to prepare from a soft paste, not completely squeezed out of whey.

Ready mascarpone keeps fresh for 3-4 days. After the expiration date, the product should not be eaten.

Remember, during long-term storage in fermented milk products, pathogenic bacteria quickly begin to develop, which pose a danger to human health.

If you use expired mascarpone, you can get an allergic reaction, poisoning and upset of the gastrointestinal tract. These conditions are accompanied by the appearance of nausea, diarrhea, abdominal pain, fever, fever, weakness, unbearable, acute colic. If symptoms of intoxication of the body occur, treatment should be started immediately: rinse the stomach, drink a sorbent, make a cleansing enema, drink plenty of fluids, call a doctor.

Mascarpone can be made from homemade sour cream, 40% fat. In this case, it is laid out in gauze, left under pressure for 5-8 hours. The output, in fact, is a dehydrated cheese mass, the consistency of which is vaguely reminiscent of soft cheese.

With what to eat

Italians have long noted that soft creamy mascarpone cheese goes well not only with desserts, but also with fruits, ham, mushrooms, herbs, tomatoes, seafood, anchovies, marinated chanterelles, salted, smoked fish. It is added to hot dishes to give the products a more delicate texture.

The use of mascarpone in cooking:

1. Pasta and polenta. Soft cheese is used as a dressing for the dish. It envelops products, softens their taste, saturating with creamy notes.
2. Sandwiches. Cheese is mixed with mustard and finely chopped fresh herbs (parsley, cilantro, basil) and spread on toast instead of butter. Bars of sausage or ham are laid on top.
3. Dessert. To prepare a cheese treat, mascarpone is mixed with powdered sugar, finely chopped fresh fruits (kiwi, strawberries, raspberries, bananas) are added. This is a traditional Italian dessert, light and hearty.
4. Cream. Cheese whipped with sugar is used for spreading ready-made buns, sand and honey cakes.
5. Risotto. Italians add mascarpone at the end of cooking to improve its taste. At the same time, it should be borne in mind that the calorie content of risotto increases.

White and rosé wines emphasize the taste of soft creamy mascarpone. These include: Riesling, Sauvignon, Zanfandel, Rose’Anjou. They have an unobtrusive delicate taste, light, in the style of a candy store.

An Italian cheese spread made from cow or buffalo milk cream is also used to make ice cream, pudding, mousses, jellies, pastry creams, and fruit salad dressings.

The most popular desserts using Milanese cheese are tiramisu and cheesecake. Consider the principle of their preparation.

Tiramisu with mascarpone

It is an Italian multi-layered dessert that has gained wide popularity all over the world. Literally, the name tiramisu (“tira”, “mi”, “su”) can be translated as “lift me up”. Currently, there are many variations in the interpretation of the name of the dessert. Some associate it with the fact that it improves mood, others – with a high calorie content, others – with an exciting effect (due to the combination of coffee and chocolate). One way or another, tiramisu is an exquisite Italian dessert of aristocratic origin. It is believed that it was invented in honor of Duke Cosimo III of the Medici in the XNUMXth century, while documentary evidence of this fact has not been preserved.

The taste of tiramisu directly depends on the freshness and quality of mascarpone, which serves as the basis for making the cream. 100 g of dessert contains at least 300 kcal.

Ingredients:

• powdered sugar – 75 g;
• cocoa powder – 80 g;
• chicken egg – 2 pcs;
• rum – 60 ml;
• savoiardi cookies – 30 pcs;
• Mascarpone cheese – 250 g;
• strong coffee – 200 ml.

Principle of preparation:

1. Beat the mascarpone vigorously with a whisk until smooth. Cheese should acquire the consistency of thick sour cream or heavy cream.
2. Separate whites from yolks. The latter, in turn, beat with mascarpone and powdered sugar until a white mass is obtained. Lather the whites and gently (1 tablespoon each) mix into the yolks with cheese.
3. Mix chilled strong coffee with rum in a wide plate. Gently dip half of the savoiardi in the impregnation, put it on the bottom of the mold.
4. Divide the cream into three parts, one of which pour the first layer of cookies. Carry out a similar procedure with the two remaining parts of the savoiardi. At the same time, the top layer of cookies must be filled with cream.

To level the savoiardi, knock on the sides of the mold.

5. Place the dessert in the refrigerator for 3-5 hours.
6. Before serving, sprinkle the tiramisu with cocoa using a fine sieve. So you can avoid lumps on the surface of the dessert.

Tiramisu with mascarpone cheese is cut and served chilled in portions. If the cream warms to room temperature, it will become liquid and begin to melt.

To add a nutty flavor to the creamy dessert, ladies’ fingers (savoyardi) are sprinkled with chopped pistachios. Biscuits can be replaced with biscuits. Brew and cool coffee immediately before preparing tiramisu. So it will turn out tastier and with a richer flavor.

Cheesecake with mascarpone

It is a cheese dessert, reminiscent of the consistency of a soufflé or cottage cheese casserole. The first cheesecake appeared in Ancient Greece. Currently, there are many variations in the preparation of a light dessert, but its main component is always cream cheese (Philadelphia, cottage cheese, mascarpone).

Ingredients (room temperature):

• chicken eggs – 3 pcs;
• butter – 100 g;
• vanilla pods – 1 pc;
• biscuit shortbread cookies – 200 g;
• cream with a fat content of 33% – 200 ml;
• Mascarpone cheese – 500 g;
• powdered sugar – 140 g;
• strawberries and fresh mint for garnish.

Principle of preparation:

1. Wrap the mold in foil.
2. Grind the cookies into small crumbs, mix with softened butter.
3. From the resulting mass form the bottom of the cheesecake. To do this, it is distributed in a baking dish, forming a cake, 0,5 cm thick and with a side height of 3-4 cm.
4. Beat mascarpone with powdered sugar, add cream, eggs, vanilla seeds. Mix the cream thoroughly. Pour the filling onto the crust.
5. Fill the tray halfway with water. Place a mold on it. The main condition for the successful baking of a cheesecake is that water should never get inside the dessert.
6. Bake in the oven for 1 hour 20 minutes at 160 degrees. Then take out the cake, leave to cool in the form. Then remove the crust.

Refrigerate the finished cheesecake for 2 hours to strengthen the texture. Garnish with a sprig of mint and fresh strawberries.

Remember, when baking, the cheese dessert should not increase in volume or crack. To prevent this from happening, the creamy base of the cheesecake should be beaten exclusively with a whisk. When using a mixer, more air enters the mass, which leads to an increase in the rise of the cake and, as a result, the formation of cracks on its surface during cooling. In addition, it is important to bake the dessert exclusively in a water bath at a low temperature, and remove it only after cooling. This will reduce the chance of cracks appearing on the surface of the top layer.

Cheesecake with mascarpone cheese – a delicate cheese soufflé with a creamy milky taste, hints of vanilla. For a variety of taste, sweet and sour fruits (currants, raspberries, strawberries) or jam are added to the filling.

Conclusion

Mascarpone is a traditional Italian cheese containing 5 times more protein than milk. The composition of the product includes useful essential amino acids – lysine, tryptophan, methionine. The lack of these compounds in the body leads to muscle wasting, impaired blood formation, metabolism of fats, phosphatides in the liver, adrenaline synthesis, and nitrogen balance.

Italian cream cheese is a source of magnesium, calcium, phosphorus, sodium, iron, vitamins A, B, D, PP, C, antioxidants.

For the production of mascarpone, fresh fat cream is mixed with citric or tartaric acid, the mixture is heated to 90 degrees, placed in linen bags to drain excess whey. Unlike hard cheeses, no sourdough or rennet is added to it. Because of this, the product does not form a dense clot, but looks more like thick sour cream or whipped cream with an oily structure.

With regular use of cheese, the body’s immune response improves, mood rises, bones, teeth, nails, and hair are strengthened.

Mascarpone is a fatty product that should not be carried away by people with diseases of the digestive system (liver, intestines, stomach), obesity, children under 2 years of age.

In order to avoid acquiring a fake, it is recommended to give preference to proven manufacturers. The most popular “cheese” companies are: “Pjatnica”, “Formagia”, “Granarolo”.

Remember, properly cooked mascarpone is white, creamy and fresh milky, not sour with a subtle creamy aftertaste.