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Mascarpone

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For the film, see Mascarpone (2021 film).
Mascarpone
Homemade mascarpone
Country of originItaly
TownLodi, Lombardy
Source of milkCow
PasteurizedNo
TextureSoft
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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]

Production process

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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

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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

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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

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Notes

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

References

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  1. ^ Shilcutt, Katharine (2011-06-30). "20 More Commonly Mispronounced Food Words". Houston Press. Retrieved 2021-05-08. Other mispronunciations I often hear: Mascarpone pronounced as "mars-capone".
  2. ^ Mahe, George (2020-04-03). "Ask George: Have you ever compiled a list of mispronounced foods?". St. Louis Magazine. Retrieved 2021-05-08. Mascarpone: MASS-car-pohn. There is no "r" in that first syllable.
  3. ^ Bilyeu, Mary (2019-05-08). "Macarons, macaroons, what's the difference? A lot". Toledo Blade. Retrieved 2021-05-08. But regardless of whether their producers choose to be entertainers, educators, or a mishmash-up of both, it irritates me beyond my usually verbose ability to spew words that, much of the time, they disseminate misinformation. (Food Network, my gaze is particularly focused upon you.) For example, let's address the issue of mascarpone, a soft Italian cream cheese. The vast majority of the time, I hear it pronounced mars-kah-POHN.
  4. ^ "Mascarpone Artigianale" (in Italian). Archived from the original on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
  5. ^ Turismo Provincia di Lodi (2004). "Mascarpone" (in Italian). Retrieved 22 September 2011.
  6. ^ Tessa Buratto (2010). "Mastering Mascarpone: What it takes to make a perfect batch of Mascarpone Cheese". San Luis Obispo, CA. Retrieved 8 April 2015.
  7. ^ Walstra, Pim; Wouters, Jan T. M.; Geurts, Tom J. (2006). Dairy Science and Technology. Wiley. ISBN 9780824727635.
  8. ^ Addeo, Francesco (2002). Chimica e tecnologia del latte (in Italian). Università degli Studi di Napoli.
  9. ^ Regione Lombardia. "Elenco dei prodotti agroalimentari tradizionali della Regione Lombardia – Quinta revisione" (in Italian). p. 6. Retrieved 22 September 2011.
  10. ^ "Il mascarpone artigianale, specialità lombarda". Ruminantia – Journal of Dairy Science (in Italian). 2023. Retrieved 29 November 2025.
  11. ^ David B. Fankhauser. "Making Mascarpone at Home". U.C. Clermont College-Batavia, OH. Archived from the original on 2007-04-09.
  12. ^ "Mascarpone". Britannica. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
  13. ^ "Mascarpone: cos'è, come si fa e perché non è un formaggio". tuttogreen.it (in Italian). 14 March 2017. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  14. ^ "Mascarpone, la tesi di Brera". La Provincia Pavese (in Italian). 24 December 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  15. ^ "Il mascarpone cremosa delizia tutta lombarda". Il Giorno (in Italian). 10 January 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  16. ^ "Maschèrpa". Treccani (in Italian). Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  17. ^ Recanatini, Simona; Sassi, Sonia (2018). Dolci – Crema di mascarpone (in Italian). Gribaudo. ISBN 8858044266.
  18. ^ "Mascherpa – Origine del cognome". Cognomix (in Italian). Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  19. ^ "Il Mascherpone: una storia trevigiana che inizia nel 1933". QDP News (in Italian). 2023. Retrieved 21 November 2025.
  20. ^ "Registro marchi n. 48371 – Latteria di Cison di Valmarino". Confraternita Mascherpone 1933 (in Italian). 1934. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
  21. ^ "Cison rivendica il mascarpone: marchio registrato nel 1933". Il Gazzettino (in Italian). 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
  22. ^ "Riemerge il marchio Mascherpone Valmarino del 1933". Oggi Treviso (in Italian). 2023. Retrieved 20 November 2025.
  23. ^ Toppino, Nadia (31 October 2023). "CastelBrando: trittico di storia, gusto e Princess Spa". Storie di Cibo (in Italian). Retrieved 29 November 2025.
  24. ^ Minazzi, Alberto (26 November 2025). "Mascherpone e tiramisù: la sorprendente storia veneta dietro i dolci di Natale". Metropolitano.it (in Italian). Retrieved 29 November 2025.
  25. ^ "Il mascarpone artigianale, specialità lombarda". Ruminantia – Journal of Dairy Science (in Italian). 2020. Retrieved 29 November 2025.; Pinarelli, Caterina (6 June 2008). "Il Mascarpone". Il Latte (in Italian).
  26. ^ Lidia Matticchio Bastianich (27 October 2015). Lidia's Mastering the Art of Italian Cuisine: Everything You Need to Know to be a Great Italian Cook. Appetite by Random House. pp. 107–. ISBN 978-0-449-01623-7.
  27. ^ Luigi Veronelli (23 October 2012). Food of North Italy: Authentic Recipes from Piedmont, Lombardy, and Valle d'Aosta. Tuttle Publishing. pp. 31–. ISBN 978-1-4629-0976-6.
  28. ^ Jason Atherton (18 June 2015). Social Sweets. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 87–. ISBN 978-1-4729-2080-5.
  29. ^ Heston Blumenthal (2007). Further Adventures in Search of Perfection: Reinventing Kitchen Classics. Bloomsbury. pp. 140–. ISBN 978-0-7475-9405-5.
  30. ^ Barbara Fairchild (14 September 2010). Bon Appetit Desserts: The Cookbook for All Things Sweet and Wonderful. Andrews McMeel Publishing. pp. 191–. ISBN 978-1-4494-0200-6.
  31. ^ Victoria Wise (3 December 2004). The Pressure Cooker Gourmet: 225 Recipes for Great-Tasting, Long-Simmered Flavors in Just Minutes. Harvard Common Press. pp. 329–. ISBN 978-1-55832-201-1.
  32. ^ "Sainsbury's Prosciutto Mushroom & Mascarpone Pizza, Taste the Difference 480g". sainsburys.co.uk. Retrieved 2024-05-13.
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