Mascarpone is the main ingredient of countless delicious preparations, ranging from desserts (of which tiramisu is the most popular dessert of reference) to first courses (see the much loved pasta with mascarpone and salmon). But you have never thought of preparing What about mascarpone at home? Today, in fact, we will get to work and make this real delicacy with our own hands, so loved by young and old. Although Lombardy is the birthplace of mascarpone, the fame of this soft cheese spread rapidly throughout Italy. While defining itself as a "cheese", mascarpone is not obtained from milk, but from its cream (or cream if you prefer) . To make the proteins coagulate, we will have to act on two fronts: we will first heat the cream to 80-90 ° C, to acidify it later with citric acid or lemon juice. And it is precisely the combination of heat and acidity that facilitates the coagulation process of proteins.
Video of the Recipe
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Identity Card of the Recipe
- 453 KCal Calories per serving
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Ingrediants
- 500 ml of fresh cream
- 7 ml of lemon juice (recommended) or 2 g of citric acid
Materials Needed
- Food thermometer
- Large sieve or pasta drain
- Whip
- Casserole
- Clean tea towel
Preparation
- Heat the cream in a saucepan over a very low heat, taking care to mix it often with a whisk and measure the temperature.
- When the cream reaches 80-85 ° C, gradually add a tablespoon of lemon juice (about 7 ml), continuing to mix for at least 3-5 minutes: in contact with the lemon, the cream will immediately begin to thicken.
Did you know that
Citric acid can also be used instead of lemon juice. For half a liter of fresh cream, it is recommended to use 2 g of citric acid dissolved in 5 ml of warm water. Personally, I recommend the use of lemon because the mascarpone flavor is closer to the usual one and is also more delicate and less acid in the mouth.- Leave the cream to rest in the saucepan for about 15 minutes.
- Line a colander with a clean cloth and place everything on top of a container.
- Gently pour the thickened cream onto the cloth and let the mixture rest in the refrigerator for at least 12-24 hours. During this period, the cream proteins - coagulated thanks to the double action of the heat and the acidity of the lemon - will give an extraordinary creaminess to the mixture, which will be transformed into mascarpone.
- After 24 hours, remove the mascarpone from the cloth and store it in a tightly closed container with cling film or with a lid: it is recommended to consume the mascarpone within 3-4 days.
Alice's comment - PersonalCooker
After some rest in the cool, the homemade mascarpone is ready to become the protagonist of our favorite desserts or first courses. Continue to follow me on My-personaltrainerTv: many other curious recipes await you.Nutritional values and Health Comment on the recipe
Mascarpone is the Italian cheese richest in fats present "on the square"; in the absence of direct analytical technologies it is NOT possible to establish the energy contribution of the homemade one but it is conceivable that it can reach up to 4-5 times the nutritional content (therefore also of lipids and cholesterol) of the starting raw material.
