Mascarpone

A rich fresh cheese set with acid

Mascarpone is a rich fresh cheese made by heating whole milk and cream together and setting them with tartaric acid. The method used here is Jim Wallace's documented recipe for New England Cheesemaking Supply. It uses a metal bowl over a pot of water, which works as a double boiler, so the cream never meets the heat directly.

The draft summary also names a culturing route with a crème fraîche culture. This page does not write that route up, because the sources read here give only the acid method.

Why the heat is held and the acid is added last

The milk and cream are heated slowly to 185–190 °F (85–88 °C). Foaming begins at about 175 °F (79 °C), and the mixture is held at the target for 5 minutes. The source keeps this target in the cream itself, so the heat source has to be judged by the cream's temperature, not by the water.

Tartaric acid dissolved in 2–3 tablespoons of water is stirred in gently, and the curd forms almost at once. The mixture is then cooled for 20 to 30 minutes before draining, so the curd sets before it is handled.

Draining, texture and keeping

The curd drains in a colander lined with butter muslin for 1–2 hours for the traditional texture, or for up to 12 hours in the refrigerator for a whipped texture. About 1 pint of whey drains off, as the source prints it.

The source gives the storage limit: refrigerate covered and use within 7–10 days.

Water-jacket and circulator routes (untested adaptation)

Untested adaptation: an open inner bowl in a slow-cooker water jacket or a circulator bath, in place of the pot of simmering water. The bath must run above the 185–190 °F target in the cream, and no source sets the bath temperature that achieves it. The route is listed here for the reader's information and is not part of the documented method above.

What the sources leave open

Bath setpoint needed to reach 185–190 °F in the cream: untested.