Mascarpone Cheese Recipe (https://cheeseforum.org/articles/wiki-mascarpone-cheese-making-recipe/)
Hey, John...
I noticed your recipe calls for "fresh" cows light cream. Does this mean fresh from the cow, not pasteurized or homogonized? If so, could I use store bought? I don't have access to "fresh" at this time but am checking around for a local source in the mean time.
I am looking to make this in the near future and am getting my ducks in a row, so to speak, before I do. Lady Liberty posted her tiramisu recipe (https://cheeseforum.org/forum/index.php/topic,871.0.html) and I just gotta have some. Yum Yum... I have also heard of this being referred to as "Italian rocket fuel" hahahaha. Idk if I'll be able to take it or not but I am gonna try...
Ronnie from TN
Mornin Ronnie
I haven't made Mascarpone (thus no pictures on that recipe page) but I just checked where I got that recipe from and no mention of raw or pasteurized cream. The word fresh was my addition in that you should always buy as fresh as possible, I'll corect that.
FYI, light cream is not a very definitive description, I build an info page on Milks and Creams (https://cheeseforum.org/Making/Milk.htm) where it is described as 18-30% butterfat, a wide range, good luck!
PS: Just read that LL used US "Half & Half" which is lower 10.5-18% butterfat. As you are using Tartaric Acid, I'd go with higher butterfat content.
PPS: I've got to try making this someday also.
Thanks for the link to the milk and cream page John. Reallllly good info there. I am just learning to navigate the forum to all the different areas and just hadn't gotten to that one yet. I am thinking 25% on the butterfat content will be my goal for my first mascarpone.
Btw John, GREAT site... I am having trouble getting to the actual making of the cheese rather than just reading about it, lol. In defense of that, I usually don't jump right in doing something without doing a little research first.
Ronnie from TN
Yep I agree, great site.
Ronnie, let us know you the mascarpone work out. Somthing I have never tried myself either, and one that I really must do.
Does anyone know if this can be made with citric acid, as opposed to tartaric acid? As I have CA, but not TA?...
Hi Mrs K, not sure what recipe you are using, but I checked mine and it said that to acidify you could use either vinegar, tartaric acid or lemon juice. So from that I would say that citric acid should work fine.
Let us know how it turns out.
According to my Italian Cheese book it may be renneted with tartric, citric or acetic acids.
I finally dug in and made Mascarpone last week, as I had ten cups of cream and no desire to make butter. I found a recipe that called for white wine vinegar...and remembered that I had a bottle of white rice wine vinegar. It worked great!
I made a batch of coffee liqueur this morning, which needs to mellow for a week or two, then I plan on making tiramisu for Christmas presents for our friends. In the meantime, I'll be making more mascarpone.
Mascarpone is great on baked fruit like apples, pears, peaches and apriocots to with a sprinkle of cinnamon.
So, a couple of questions about Mascarpone:
1) Is the whey supposed to be white? Mine looks almost like milk, though obviously thinner. I guess I expected it to be greenish, like when I make ricotta (or any other cheese, for that matter). Maybe I'm not using enough acid?
2) How thick is it supposed to be after it has hung for several hours? One recipe I have says to stir it before using, but mine is so thick that I have to knead it. Rather like the texture of Phylly cream cheese blocks.
3) How much citric acid is called for in the recipes you have? I've been using rice wine vinegar (because I have it on hand), but will run out of that someday soon and would like to try citric acid because I have that in the house, too.
TIA for all of your help and advice!
Quote from: MrsKK on December 03, 2009, 11:51:48 AM
So, a couple of questions about Mascarpone:
1) Is the whey supposed to be white? Mine looks almost like milk, though obviously thinner. I guess I expected it to be greenish, like when I make ricotta (or any other cheese, for that matter). Maybe I'm not using enough acid?
Sounds like you lost some butterfats. It should not be white, but it does get looking like that gray watery skim milk they sell at grocery stores.
2) How thick is it supposed to be after it has hung for several hours? One recipe I have says to stir it before using, but mine is so thick that I have to knead it. Rather like the texture of Phylly cream cheese blocks.
When it's made it should be about the thickness of ... Oatmeal? Cream of wheat? After draining it should be more like ... mashed potatoes? slightly drained riccotta?
3) How much citric acid is called for in the recipes you have? I've been using rice wine vinegar (because I have it on hand), but will run out of that someday soon and would like to try citric acid because I have that in the house, too.
I generally use 1/4 teaspoon Tartaric Acid per quart of cream but I have heard others have used citric acid.
TIA for all of your help and advice!
"Sounds like you lost some butterfats. It should not be white, but it does get looking like that gray watery skim milk they sell at grocery stores."
So should I have used more of the vinegar? Maybe it didn't coagulate well enough?
Maybe I'm draining mine too long, since it seems like it is thicker than it should be.
Most store bought Mascarpone is very dry. Like thin cream cheese I think. You want to be able to whip it up into things without watering it down. Not fluffy but not like a hard block cream cheese somewhere between. More like a softened butter. Does that make sense? It holds it's form but can be broken up easily with a fork.
David B. Fankhauser has a nice picture you can see the creaminess on the cloth at the bottom of the page if you click on it. It will stiffen when chilled but soften when warmed much like soft butter.
http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/Cheese/mascarpone.HTM (http://biology.clc.uc.edu/fankhauser/Cheese/mascarpone.HTM)
Sounds like maybe you drained to long but I can't really see without a picture. If you drain to long it will get dry and crumbly like an overly dry riccotta not schmush under your fingers. I guess the best descripton I can think of is it should act a lot like fresh Wisconsin dairy butter at room temperature but not as firm when chilled. Nothing else like it in the world!
I've never used vinegar so it may react a little differently. I prefer fresh squeezed lemons. I love to use lemons any time they call for vinegar - much fresher flavor.
I am wondering if maybe your cheese cloth let a lo of the curds through. I use a huge hanchief when I make finer cheeses. It takes longer to drain but you loose nothing. Maybe that's why your whey looked white?
Okay, from your description, I think I am getting it the right texture, as it is "mushable" not, crumbly.
I think I will try a batch with citric acid to see if the whey comes out clearer. I don't think it is the cheesecloth, as it is the same as I use for cream cheese and the whey from that isn't white. I just didn't want to add too much vinegar and end up with grainy mascarpone.
BTW, I still have the whey sitting in a jar (waiting to be fed to the chickens) and there is now a clear, yellow-green layer at the bottom and the top is quite thick, so I'm going to ladle it off and see what it tastes like.
Ah yes the fats seem to float to the top. You may have what I call whey butter forming. I don't know what it really is but that's what I call it because it tastes a bit like unsalted butter.
It can be reclaimed and saved. There is probably not much but it mixes well with berries or herbs to make a nice spread for your morning toast or to put on your hot veggies at dinner time. I get a little bit on the top of each gallon bottle of whey and scrape it out with a butter knive after it's chilled. After 7 gallons of whey collection you can get a stick of free butter with no extra work. Sometimes a bit more.
It probably tastes a little like cultured butter?
I've never made cultured butter but it's kind of like light butter that's not so greasy if that makes sense?
I skimmed off the top layer, which was really thick. It has good flavor to it, much like cream cheese, but not as thick as cc. It is obviously VERY high in butterfat. Only about a half cup of it, though, so I didn't miss out on too much for the mascarpone.
Is 'Cream of Tartar'...used to make royal icing; the same as/or related to: 'Tartaric acid?'
Thanks to any who may explain,
Alynxia
A definate ... Maybe ... ;)
Cream of tartar is a weak salt derived from tartaric acid, when it is half-neutralized with potassium hydroxide (hence it's other catchy names: potassium bitartrate and potassium hydrogen tartrate). Cream of tartar is therefore an offspring of tartaric acid.
Tartaric acid is not called for very often in the home kitchen – when it is, it is primarily to provide extra tartness to foods. In the recipe you mention, its addition is to give the flatbread a little extra zing. If you don't have tartaric acid on hand (which is much harder to find and more expensive than cream of tartar (which itself is hard to find for so many of our readers)), you could probably use two teaspoons of cream of tartar in place of one teaspoon of cream of tartar and one of tartaric acid.
Culture based Mascarpone is WAY tastier and thicker than one made with tartaric acid. Just like cultured Mozzarella is better than the quick acidified version.
Sailor Con - do you have a receipe for culture based mascarpone?
I use the recipe from Ricki Carroll's book.
Hello.
I'm going to prepare mascarpone based on the recipe with tartaric acid. My first go and I'm curious how it goes. ^-^
I hope it turned out well for you!
Sailor could you please give the recipe, as I don't have her book, and my recipe is very vague.
MrsK, how did you coffee liquer turn out? Could you please share that recipe too.
Many thanks.
It turned out really good. Yummy with cream as a beverage, too.
I'll have to dig the recipe up and post it in another thread. Please give me a day or two.
The tartaric acid version is posted at the beginning of this thread. Lots of restaurants, even high end ones, make Mascarpone in house using this method. Until they try the cultured version and taste the difference.
From RC's book:
1 quart cream & a packet of creme fraiche
Heat cream to 86F
Add creme fraiche
Let sit at room temp for 12 hours or until coagulated.
That's it. Can't get any easier than that. You can drain through butter muslin to get a thicker curd. I have frozen Mascarpone successfully, but I prefer it fresh.
Many thanks Sailor. I am assuming that you are talking about store bought creme fraiche? If not how do you make that? (Note to self. I really need to get my hands on some more cheese books/recipes.)
MrsK, that fine. When ever you get the time.
Creme Fraiche STARTER is available from the supply houses. It's similar to Aromatic B but the ratios are probably different.
Ok, looked through my suppliers list, and they don't stock it. I have B and a flor dancia. Not any good?
So it should be acidified with a meso not a thermo? Just wondering as I thought I saw somewhere that C starter was good for mascarpone.
Well I guess I need to start looking around for this starter.
Many thanks Sailor.
Crème Fraiche, Aromatic B, and Flora danica all have exactly the same bacteria, including Leuconocstoc m. cremoris that produces a diacetyl flavor and a little CO2. The ratios and strains may be a little different, but that's protected trade information.
Tea, I posted a thread with the recipe for Coffee Liquer in the Favorite recipes, etc section.
I found what I was looking for. Cheeselinks has that Cheese starter E (thermo) can be used for mascapone. What do you think?
Not familiar with Cheeselinks or Starter E.
Sorry, I wasn't thinking. wwwcheeselinks.com.au is where I get most of my supplies here in Australia. Here the cheese cultures are packaged "starter A", "starter B" etc. Those being mesophilic, C & E are a thermophilic starter. They are all different blends of those strains. Hope this made sense.
Check the bacteria mix carefully. A standard Meso starter isn't good enough. It needs to include Leuconocstoc m. cremoris that produces a diacetyl flavor and a little CO2.