Sandi is blogging from the WhistleStop Cafe kitchen. It's all about good home cooking; food, family and fun. Thousands of posts . . .

~In the south and around the world.



Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Making Mascarpone~ the process

The process for making mascarpone cheese is really very simple. The hard part was finding the right ingredients. There is no tartaric acid in Birmingham, and it is NOT the same as cream of tarter! (you can order it here) The cream has to be pasturized, rather than the more common ultra-pasturized.

I found a recipe for mascarpone that is made with lemon juice... but it didn't work for me. I don't want to lead you astray; So that is not the one I am posting. This recipe calls for tataric acid and it worked perfectly.

Mascarpone with Tartaric Acid
1 quart light cream or half-and-half
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon tartaric acid
In a double boiler, heat the cream to 185 degrees F. Add 1/8 teaspoon of the tartaric acid and stir for several minutes. The mixture will slowly thicken into a cream-of-wheat consistency, with tiny flecks of curd. If the cream does not coagulate, add a speck more of the remaining tartaric acid and stir 5 minutes longer. Be careful not to add too much tartaric acid, or a grainy texture will result.

Line a stainless-steel colander with a double layer of butter muslin. Ladle the curd into the colander and drain for 1 hour. Place the finished cheese in a covered container and refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.
Yield: about 1 pound

It was really very easy~ I was amazed. I had more than plenty of creamy mascarpone cheese for my tiramisu. Not only that... but I have a bag of tataric acid for many, many more batches.

Y'all enjoy!
Sandi

8 comments:

Rhoda @ Southern Hospitality said...

Oh, I would have totally showed up at Whole Foods if we had been in town Sat. for your cooking demo! HOw cool is that?! Let me know if you do something again, I'd love to be in the audience cheering you on.

Sandi @the WhistleStop Cafe said...

Rhoda~ We are doing something at Birmingham Bake and Cook soon... I'll post it early!

RachelD said...

What a great idea!! We've made the yogurt cheese for years, adding in dill and chives and other herbs.

I'm going to buy some TA and surprise DD with a new kitchen trick.

Baked Alaska said...

I'm so glad your mascarpone turned out well. I was asking a few others that made it-did you think yours tasted like the store bought? Mine did not. It was very good, but had a more tangy taste like sour cream, and less of that unique sweet taste of mascarpone. I used it in tarts and several other ways and it was great though. I've got to make it again. This weekend is Feta-goat milk is in the refrigerator awaiting me.

fieldsofkudzu said...

I've been wanting to try to make cheese for quite some time. It gives me hope to see that someone else has attempted it and was successful! Maybe someday...

Unknown said...

Thanks for posting this; I may just have to give this a try since I do love my mascarpone. I recently posted about balsamic strawberries with mascarpone and suggested a substitution. It worked fine in that dish, but it wasn't mascarpone. I agree that the cost is often prohibitive. We had friends who were cheesemakers years ago, but I have never given it a try myself. I'll just have to put that on my life list. Are you coming to Little Rock Whole Foods anytime soon? Remember Crock Pot Wednesdays beginning on August 5. You have such great ideas that I hope you will share some of them there. Thanks a bunch.

Sandi @the WhistleStop Cafe said...

Rachel & Kudzu~ you will be amazed at how easy it is.
Cindy Ruth~ it wasn't as sweet and creamy as mascarpone. I will keep trying!
Dar~ I'll have to check out your recipe, now that I can make all the mascarpone I want. I'll come sit in your kitchen... but don't make me buy a new crockpot!

Lori Lynn said...

Cool, glad to know it is so easy, and where to get tartaric acid, I just might try my own batch too. Thanks Sandi!
LL

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