Mascarpone cheese

The Italian cream cheese mascarpone, whose name is known to many culinary art lovers, hails from the Lombardy region. Like many fine products, this type of cheese has its own history: for example, there is an opinion that it was first produced in an area somewhere between the cities of Abbiategrasso and Lodi, which are located southwest of Milan. It was around the late 16th and early 17th centuries. This product is appreciated for its tender consistency and unsurpassed taste, even despite the rather high nutritional value and calorie content of mascarpone cheese.

In gastronomy, the use of mascarpone cheese is extensive and is used quite often in the manufacture of various desserts and other sweet dishes, the most famous of which are rightfully considered cheesecakes and tiramisu. In addition, this product is part of the unusual "Torta di Gorgonzola" - a dish that is rather unusual for our layman, but very tasty and savoury. Gorgonzola cheese is cut into thin slices and then flaked into a creamy mascarpone. Sometimes it is used instead of butter for sandwiches, thereby giving a sweet note to the usual dish. The delicate taste of cream cheese mascarpone is also appreciated by lovers of simple desserts: it fits perfectly with berries and fruits, and acquires special sophistication when grated bitter chocolate is added. However, you should not abuse such seemingly "light" desserts, since the calorie content of mascarpone cheese is 412 kcal.

Mascarpone cheese is considered by many to be a close relative of our usual cottage cheese, and in its characteristic taste and delicate creamy consistency, it resembles the best varieties of high-quality homemade sour cream. In color, this product differs in a slightly creamy shade, which is similar to the color of melted milk.

The process of making mascarpone cheese is also interesting, for which cream with a fat content of at least 25 percent is taken and heated in a water bath to 90 degrees. Then, with stirring, tartaric acid, lemon juice or white wine vinegar are added so that the milk protein begins to fold. The mass is cooled and suspended in a cool place in linen bags to remove excess moisture.

Mascarpone cheese is a perishable product, and therefore it is recommended to use it for food almost immediately after cooking. Now the shelf life of cheese is significantly extended thanks to vacuum packaging. The open product can be stored in the refrigerator for no more than three days.