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MASCARPONE
Makes about 28 ounces
By Dennis W. Viau; adapted from other recipes
Mascarpone is expensive. Did you know you can make
own, and it’s easy? The local market sells 8 ounces (250ml)
of mascarpone for $3.99. A 32-ounce (1 litre) carton of
heavy cream sells for $5.49. That’s like getting 8 ounces
of mascarpone for $1.32—about 1/3 the price. (At the
warehouse store 64 ounces (1.9 litres)—half a gallon—is
only $5.69!) Here’s another thing about mascarpone: A lot
of people incorrectly pronounce it marscapone (with the r
in the first syllable). The r is in the second syllable—mascarpone.
I Googled “homemade mascarpone” and found that variations abound. For this recipe I experimented
with tartaric acid, lemon juice, white vinegar, and cream of tartar. The results were nearly identical, but if
you will use the mascarpone for a dessert, avoid vinegar. The flavor is noticeable.
Ingredients:
1 quart (946ml) heavy cream, ultra-pasteurized is okay1 (see notes at end)
½ teaspoon powdered sugar—optional2
½ teaspoon salt—optional2
½ teaspoon tartaric acid or 1 tablespoon cream of tartar or 2 tablespoons lemon juice or white vinegar3
Directions:
If you have a double boiler, use it. You can arrange your own double boiler by using two saucepans, one
slightly smaller than the other. Put about 1 to 1½ cups (235-350ml) of water in the larger saucepan and
set it over high heat. Bring to a boil. Pour the cream into the smaller saucepan and carefully set it inside
the larger pan. The bottom of the smaller pan should rest on the surface of the boiling water without
water spilling out. Reduce the heat enough to maintain a simmer in the water.
Use a digital thermometer to monitor the heat of the cream as it warms. At about 120°F (50°C) (no need
to be accurate here) add the acid (tartaric, whatever) and the sugar and salt, if you prefer. The cream will
immediately start to thicken a little, but not much. Continue heating the cream, stirring constantly with a
heat-proof spatula, to 180°F (80°C). Remove from the heat and let cool 10 minutes. Stir it occasionally.
Place a large coffee filter (12-cups) inside a sieve resting over a large bowl. Pour the cream into the filter.
(If you have too much cream, use a second filter and sieve.) Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for about
an hour. (You’ll already see whey gathering in the bottom of the bowl.)
Place the wrapped sieve and bowl in the refrigerator and let sit for about 12 hours. (Some recipes call for
moving the mascarpone to a second filter/sieve and refrigerating an additional 24 hours.)
Remove the mascarpone from the filter and place in a bowl. Stir it well to blend the consistency (it will be
stiff around the edges and moist in the middle). Store in the refrigerator. Use in your favorite recipes.
It will keep for several days in the refrigerator and some web sites say it can be frozen.
You might encounter one problem (I have): The outer portion sets up so well, the center portion cannot
drain. Scoop up the wet mascarpone and place in a bowl. Transfer the firm mascarpone to a storage
container. Set up a new filter, sieve, and bowl. Pour in the wet mascarpone, cover and let drain overnight.
The Step By Step guide begins on the following page.
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STEP-BY-STEP
2
As mentioned in the notes, some recipes use salt and powdered sugar. I see no difference in the
mascarpone I made without these ingredients. I think they are unnecessary, but I included them here for
completeness. I use ultra-pasteurized heavy cream, even though some recipes call for unpasteurized.
2
I use a digital thermometer to monitor the temperature. This picture also shows my “double boiler,” one
saucepan nestled inside another with boiling water in the bottom pan. One recipe I saw said the inner
pan shouldn’t float on the boiling water. I don’t see why not. My pan is floating on the water and the
mascarpone turned out fine. You should have enough water in the bottom pan so that the bottom of the
inner pan is resting in the hot water. If water spills out the top of the bottom pan when you pour in the
cream, pour out some of the water. A quart of cream will push the inner pan down into the water, raising
the level of the water.
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After incorporating the acid, the cream will begin to thicken, but only a little. You won’t see curds actually
forming, but the cream will have a “coats a spoon” thickness to it. If you’re not familiar with the coats a
spoon term, it is typically used when making sauces. A spoon dipped in the mixture will come out with a
thin coating on it, as shown above.
4
I use a coffee filter in my sieve. The filter above is actually too small. I needed to divide the cream between
two bowls, as you’ll see in the next picture. Coffee filters labelled as “10 cups” are okay for a quart of
cream. Use a “12 cup” filter for half a gallon of cream.
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4
Pour the thickened cream into the filter. (Uh-oh. Too full. Reminder to self: “Buy 12-cup coffee filters
when at the other warehouse store in town.”) Cover with plastic wrap, let cool for about an hour, and then
refrigerate overnight, or at least 12 hours.
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After sitting in the refrigerator overnight, the cream has thickened considerably. It is especially thick
around the edges, as you can see when I pushed the filter into the cream a little and then peeled it back.
The thickened cream holds its shape. The inner part of the cream has more of a liquid texture, and thus
the mascarpone will need to be blended to distribute the texture evenly.
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Here’s the mascarpone, dumped from the filter into a clean bowl. Again, notice the almost dry texture
around the edges. It is semi-solid. When it is blended the final mascarpone will be smooth and creamy.
As mentioned above, sometimes the inner portion doesn’t drain properly. Set up the sieve-filter-bowl
configuration again and drain the inner portion overnight in the refrigerator. It will be fine the next day.
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Here’s the whey left in the bottom of the bowl. There are some recipes that call for using whey, but I just
discard it.
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The whey measures about 4 ounces (125ml). I started with 32 ounces (950ml) heavy cream, minus 4 fluid
ounces, yields about 28 ounces (825ml) mascarpone.
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Looks good, doesn’t it?
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Some of the pictures I saw on the Internet showed the mascarpone being displayed on a spoon. I thought,
“If I’m going to look cool I need to use a spoon too.” So, here it is.
Conclusion
As for what you can do with mascarpone, one of the most recognized desserts that uses mascarpone
is tiramisu. I like to use mascarpone on fried fish, adding it with some chopped garden-ripe tomatoes
during the final stage of cooking. (See my recipe for Trout with Tomatoes.) I also like to put a small
amount, about ½ cup (125ml), in a small bowl and stir in 1 teaspoon of sugar and a few drops of vanilla.
With a lot of mascarpone sitting in the refrigerator, waiting to be used, you can come up with all sorts of
delicious ideas.
Notes
As mentioned above, many mascarpone recipes call for unpasteurized cream. Markets don’t like to stock
this stuff because it won’t last as long on the shelf and they’re afraid they might need to discard it, which
would be a loss of profit. I wouldn’t know where to find unpasteurized cream if the local dairy farmer
delivered it directly to my door. I’ve used ultra-pasteurized cream, of different brands, many times and
the final mascarpone always came out right.
1
Also mentioned above, some recipes call for a little salt and powdered sugar. I’ve made mascarpone with
it and without it, and I notice no difference in quality. I prefer to work without it, but I included it here
just in case someone sees a need to use it.
2
To thoroughly experiment, I made mascarpone with tartaric acid, lemon juice, white vinegar, and cream
of tartar. Here are my findings:
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1. Tartaric acid: The best performer. The following morning the mascarpone was set up well, thick
and creamy. I did not need to transfer a soupy center to a second filter. When I first started making
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my own mascarpone I Googled the Internet and found tartaric acid available in small plastic bags. I
bought a one-pound bag for about $8.00, poured it into a jar, and transferred the label from the bag
to the jar. That’s the jar you see in picture #1. It’s available at most home brew shops that sell beer- and
wine-making supplies. Price varies, but $7.95 for 1 pound was the best price I found.
2. Lemon juice: When using lemon juice the mascarpone sets up well around the edges, but even after
24 hours the center is still soupy and wet. I put a second filter in a sieve and scooped out the liquid
mascarpone, transferring it to the second filter. After another 24 hours in the refrigerator it gave up
more whey and was a better consistency, but it was still not as firm as that made with the tartaric acid.
Nonetheless, feel free to use lemon juice if you don’t mind this extra step. The end results are still
good enough. (Note: this was when making a lot, 32 ounces (950ml). If you make a small amount, say
16 ounces or less, you might not see the soupy center.)
3. White vinegar: When introducing the vinegar to the heated cream nothing happened. I noticed
no thickening, not even to the coats a spoon stage. However, when I poured the cream into a filterlined sieve the whey started dripping immediately, which gave me hope the mascarpone would form.
24 hours later the mascarpone had formed like that made with lemon juice—the center was soupy.
A second sieve/filter and another 24 hours were required. The final mascarpone had almost the right
consistency (still slightly fluid), but the flavor had a slight vinegar taste to it, not as appetizing (for me,
anyway, because I am not fond of vinegar) as that made with tartaric acid.
4. Cream of tartar: This substance is not tartaric acid,
but a salt of it. It is the potassium acid salt of tartaric
acid. Some web sites say it can be substituted. So I
tried making mascarpone combining 1 tablespoon
cream of tartar with 1 quart heavy cream, following the
instructions above. The results were somewhat better to
that made with lemon juice. The cream didn’t thicken in
the pan. When poured into a filter-lined sieve the whey
started draining as usual. 24 hours later the mascarpone
was well formed, thick around the edges, but the center
was soupy. Like above, I transferred the soupy liquid to a
second filter-lined sieve and placed it in the refrigerator
for another 24 hours. The final texture was excellent and
the flavor was good. At $4.49 for 1½ ounces (43g), it is more expensive than tartaric acid (at $7.95 per
pound (450g)), but if you are not planning to make a lot, cream of tartar is an excellent substitute and
it is easily available in grocery stores. Look for it where the spices are sold.
5. After all this experimentation I felt like I needed a control sample. Just for the fun of it I heated 32
ounces of heavy whipping cream (ultra-pasteurized) to 180°F and poured it into a filter-lined sieve.
No whey dripped, but the cream started streaming slowly through the filter because no curd had
formed to block the filter’s pores. Obviously, no mascarpone was going to form. So we can eliminate
the null hypothesis.
And now, after all this experimentation, I have over a gallon of mascarpone in my refrigerator. Well, it
seems like a good time to see how it freezes, which it does. It separates a little when thawing, buy you can
whip it up with a wire whisk to get it smooth again.
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