Mascarpone

For the film, see Mascarpone (2021 film).

Mascarpone (/ˌmæskɑːrˈpoʊn(eɪ), -ni/, US also /ˌmɑːsk-/;^[a] Italian: [maskarˈpoːne]) is a soft Italian dairy product obtained by acid-heat coagulation of cream.^[4][5][6] It is a dairy cream, not a cheese in the technical sense, as it is made without rennet and does not undergo true curd formation.^[7][8] It is recognized as a prodotto agroalimentare tradizionale (PAT).^[9][10]

Mascarpone
Homemade mascarpone
Country of origin	Italy
Town	Lodi, Lombardy
Source of milk	Cow
Pasteurized	No
Texture	Soft
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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 add three tablespoons of lemon juice per pint (568 ml) of heated heavy cream. The mixture is allowed to cool to room temperature before it is poured into a cheesecloth-lined colander, set into a shallow pan or dish, strained, and chilled for one to two days.^[11]

Origins

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.^[12][13]

According to the Lombard journalist and writer Gianni Brera,^[14] the original form of the name should rather be "mascherpone", deriving, in his view, from Cascina Mascherpa, an unidentified locality situated in the lower Po Valley on the border between the provinces of Lodi, Milan and Pavia.^[15] Mascherpa, a dialect term of uncertain etymology^[16] that means “ricotta”,^[17] is also a widespread surname in the same geographic area.^[18]

This interpretation is consistent with one of the earliest official attestations of the product name outside Lombardy, dating to 1933–1934, when the dairy of Cison di Valmarino (Treviso), owned by Count Gerolamo Brandolini d’Adda and directed by Remo Dolce, registered the trademark "Mascherpone Valmarino" with the Ministry of Corporations and with the Intellectual Property Office of Treviso (trademark no. 48371).^[19][20] The registration, made public through local archival and journalistic sources,^[21][22] testifies to the start of production and commercial distribution in the Treviso area already in the early twentieth century. As highlighted by recent food-historical reconstructions, it is described as a cream-based, acid-set dairy product already at that time.^[23][24]

Previous historical uses of the term “mascarpone” may not have corresponded to the modern dairy cream produced by acid-heat coagulation of cream.^[25]

Uses

Mascarpone is milky-white in colour and is easy to spread.^[26] It is used in various Lombardy dishes and is considered a specialty in the region.^[27]

Mascarpone is one of the main ingredients in tiramisu.^[28] Sometimes it is used instead of, or along with, butter or Parmesan cheese to thicken and enrich risotto.^[29] Mascarpone is also used in cheesecake recipes.^[30][31]

Mascarpone is also commonly used in the UK on pizzas with prosciutto and mushrooms.^[32]

See also

• Italy portal
• Food portal

• List of Italian cheeses
• List of dairy products
• Italian cuisine

Notes

1. In English, mascarpone is sometimes mispronounced as if spelled "marscapone", even by food professionals.^[1][2][3]