Popular creamy, delicate Mascarpone cheese, which is very similar to butter, but compared to it is not as high in calories, so it is recommended to be included in dietary, therapeutic nutrition. The birthplace of this cheese is Italy. It is believed that the name of the cheese is associated with a Spanish expression that means “good, best.” Preparing Mascarpone couldn't be easier: use high-quality milk + heavy cream, mix everything thoroughly, and put it in the cold. The mixture should thicken completely. To ensure that the liquid quickly drains, the product is poured into special canvas bags. Then they are packaged and sold. What are the benefits of Mascarpone? How to use it correctly?
Description
Some manufacturers use express cooking. Take heavy cream, which is obtained from cow's milk, and heat it to 90 degrees. To speed up the coagulation of the product, add wine vinegar and lemon juice.
Important! Mascarpone is considered a perishable product, so it should be eaten immediately after cooking. You can extend the life by placing it in vacuum packaging and storing it in the refrigerator.
This type of cheese is a close relative of cottage cheese; it has a delicate consistency, an unusual creamy taste, and is somewhat reminiscent of homemade sour cream. It often has a creamy tint, reminiscent of the color of baked milk. The cheese has a sweet taste, which indicates that it contains a lot of lactose.
Previously, this exquisite dish was served only to monarchs. Now everyone can buy it. It can be eaten separately, or used in recipes for sauces, cakes, various creams, salads, etc. It goes well with ravioli, tortilli, and is an excellent filling for pancakes and pies.
Composition and calorie content
How many calories are in Mascarpone? At least 412 kcal. In addition to the fact that the product has essential amino acids and carbohydrates, which are necessary to replenish the human body. The product contains a sufficient amount of potassium, calcium, and phosphorus.
Mascarpone is a source of vitamins A, PP, C, K, B, and therefore benefits the heart, blood vessels, and nervous system. With regular consumption of cheese, you can restore bone tissue, muscles, ligaments, and get rid of arthritis pain.
Cheese contains many antioxidant components; they protect against aggressive environmental influences, take part in the process of blood formation, and are the best stimulator for the immune system.
Tryptophan is considered one of the essential amino acids of the product; with its help you can overcome stress and calm the nervous system. Cheese is recommended to be consumed for depression, insomnia, sudden mood swings, and increased irritability.
Contraindications
Mascarpone is not recommended for use if you have an individual intolerance to dairy products. Fatty fresh cheese should not be eaten by children under 2 years of age, as well as by those who have problems with excess weight or suffer from hypertension. Cheese is dangerous for chronic hepatitis, as well as for diseases of the intestines, stomach, and kidneys.
Using cheese in cooking
Mascarpone is ideal for making tiramisu, cheesecake, various delicious ravioli, and pies. It turns out especially tasty if you add syrup, berries, nuts, fruits, chocolate, and liqueur to the cheese.
Unfortunately, cheese is expensive, can you make it yourself or replace it with something? You can buy good quality butter + soft cheese + heavy cream. Yulia Vysotskaya, the famous TV presenter of the “Eat at Home” program, says that Mascarpone can be made from homemade cottage cheese and whipped cream. The dishes will have a delicate taste. The main thing is to stir the cheese only with a wooden spoon. It turns out especially tasty when Mascarpone is mixed with sea salt, olive oil,...
Delicious recipes
Tiramisu
Prepare egg yolks – 150 grams, sugar (250 grams) + water (100 grams) + teaspoon vanilla. The main ingredients include: half a kilogram of Mascarpone, 400 grams of cream, 200 grams of cookies, 50 grams of cocoa + espresso coffee (250 ml). Beat the yolks with a mixer, prepare a syrup from sugar and water, then pour it in a small stream into the eggs. The total amount should be 400 grams of cream. Whisk the buttercream separately, then soften the Mascarpone and add to the yolks. You should get a delicious, airy cream.
Prepare coffee, pour into a bowl and cool, add sugar, liqueur or cognac. Then take a mold with sides and lay out layers:
First layer. Cookies dipped in coffee.
Second layer. Cream.
Third and fourth layer repeat.
Tiramisu is placed in the refrigerator for 4 hours. Its main advantage is that it does not require baking. Having all the ingredients on hand, you can quickly prepare a delicious sweet.
Mascarpone cream cheese
To save money, you can try making delicious cheese at home. For this you will need: 200 grams of 18% cottage cheese (it is sold in packs) + 33% cream. The cottage cheese is rubbed through a sieve, cream (cold) is added, and the mass is whipped to the consistency of cream. Here is the finished Mascarpone.
Soufflé Mascarpone
Prepare (10 grams) + water (100 ml) + sugar (350 grams) + a pack of vanillin + 6 egg whites + lemon juice + 500 grams Mascarpone. Agar-agar is soaked in cold water for 3 hours, then you need to warm the cheese, put the saucepan on low heat, add sugar, you should get a syrup. While the syrup is being prepared, beat the lemon juice and egg whites, slowly add the syrup and continue whisking, adding cheese at the end. Pour everything into molds (pre-grease with butter) and place in the refrigerator. Bon appetit!
So, Mascarpone is a very tasty and healthy cheese, from which many dishes are prepared in Italy. Be sure to find a recipe to suit your taste and please your loved ones with sweets, an unusual sauce, or make your own cheese so you don’t have to buy it. This will save you a lot of money. The main thing is not to overuse the product, remember about your figure!
The name of this product alone evokes strong emotions among gourmets. Mascarpone cheese - amazing, tender, creamy! It is difficult to confuse it with anything or replace it. “What is it and what is it eaten with?” - you ask? It turns out that everything is simple to the point of genius.
The pride of the Alpine region
Mascarpone is the calling card and pride of the Italian region of Lombardy. This is a delicate mass that is obtained from the milk or cream of a special local breed of buffalo. But since their population is not so numerous, full-fat cow’s milk is also used for production. True, not every cow receives such an honor, but only the one that is fed with aromatic alpine herbs. The technology for preparing the product is quite simple. The cream is slowly heated to a temperature of 75-90 degrees. To roll into a mass, you need to add either a little white wine vinegar or lemon juice.
Application area
So, what is mascarpone? figured it out. Where is this precious product that appeared on our shelves not so long ago used? The first thing that comes to mind is the fantastic tiramisu cake or similar desserts. However, the use of mascarpone is not limited to these dishes. Its creamy consistency has an indescribable taste; with its presence, mascarpone cheese ennobles every culinary masterpiece. Cakes, appetizers, main courses, mousses, savory pastries, tortelli, ravioli and creamy sauces “sound” completely different with it.
Mascarpone cheese: we cook it ourselves
Today it is not difficult to buy any product you could want. Mascarpone is no exception. The only thing that can scare off the consumer is its rather high price. But if you want to try the legendary Lombardy cheese, you can try making it yourself. Both an experienced cook and a beginner can do this. So, take one liter of cream with a fat content of at least 33%. We heat them to the required temperature in a water bath. Stirring occasionally, add two tablespoons of freshly squeezed lemon juice. We warm it up for another ten minutes - during this time the mass begins to thicken. Remove from heat, cover with a lid and let cool at room temperature. Pour the cold cheese mixture into a colander lined with several layers of gauze. When the whey has drained a little, tie the ends of the gauze with a bag and hang it for 10-12 hours. Mascarpone cheese is ready. A liter of heavy cream will yield approximately half a kilogram of product. Store it in a closed container in the refrigerator.
Use of homemade mascarpone
Homemade cheese, like store-bought cheese, can be used instead of butter - just spread it on bread and enjoy the taste. Or mix with nuts, berries, fruits. By adding sugar, vanillin and cream to the mixture, you can use it to decorate sponge cakes. And if you spread mascarpone on salmon slices, add cucumber and green onions, you will have an excellent appetizer. The fish can be rolled up and cut into portions. Undoubtedly, mascarpone is one of the best inventions of mankind. Don't believe me? Try it and see for yourself!
The famous Italian cream cheese is mascarpone. What it is? This is a rather fatty mixture of soft consistency, which has a delicate taste and goes well with many foods. It is also used as a sandwich mixture. However, it was not spread for breakfast that made this product famous. Tiramisu is the most famous and popular dish, which is classified as dessert and in which this cheese is found. But let's not dwell only on sweets, let's consider other options for using the Italian delicacy.
Dishes with mascarpone
This ingredient is made from this, which is why it has an unusual taste and high fat content. But let's get back to cooking and start in order.
This, we have already considered) is great for creamy first courses. Here's one of them. Place a kilogram on a baking sheet, sprinkle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Add aromatic herbs and bake until done at 240 degrees (it is better to pierce the skin first). Heat 2.5 cups of broth (meat or vegetable broth) over a fire, add tomatoes to it and blend with a blender. Add a glass of mascarpone and stir gently; for taste, chop the basil for serving. All is ready.
Second course
There are a lot of similar treats, these are not only meat delicacies, but also risotto, pasta, and even pancakes with vegetables and mascarpone. Every experienced chef who has experimented with the flavors of various dishes more than once will tell you what it is. You can make delicious chicken pockets. Cut two poultry fillets in half (we'll end up with 4 servings) and make cuts in each piece. Chop carrots and onions, fry in a thick-bottomed pan, add a little garlic and chopped celery. As soon as the mixture turns golden, add the peeled shrimp and simmer under the lid for a couple of minutes. Beat half of the mixture with a blender, put a little parsley in it, a handful of breadcrumbs, fill the pockets in the fillet with the mixture and close with toothpicks. They can be rolled in egg and bread, or simply fried in vegetable oil until cooked. Pour a glass of dry wine and add five tablespoons of cream cheese (in our case, mascarpone), transfer the second part of the mixture to the chicken and cook for 15-20 minutes with the addition of aromatic herbs, such as saffron. Tomato paste is often added there, but this is optional. You can serve chicken with rice or boiled potatoes, or you can simply make an original vegetable salad and offer such a healthy and tasty dinner to your household.
Desserts with mascarpone cheese
- A very simple recipe for delicious cream for coffee or fruit. Combine powdered sugar, cream and cheese mixture, beat well. You can serve.
- Ice cream. Beat the yolks with sugar (3 eggs and a glass of sugar), combine with mascarpone and a spoonful of cognac. Dilute the mixture with half a glass of milk and place in the freezer. After an hour, beat the mixture with a blender and return it to the chamber. After 60 minutes, the procedure is repeated and the ice cream is left to harden for three hours. To serve, I use fruit or cream, the recipe for which is described above.
Conclusion
Mascarpone - what is it? This is an amazingly tasty and delicate product, perfect for dishes that want to surprise and amaze. As an afterword, I would like to offer a simple but authentic Italian recipe. Fry a thin piece of white bread in a dry frying pan on both sides, spread with cream cheese, place a few slices of tomatoes and basil on top (you can take it and it will also be very tasty). Brew a cup of tea or coffee and enjoy an Italian breakfast.
Mascarpone cheese first appeared in Italy. The recipe for preparing this product is quite simple: add heavy cream to high quality milk, stir well and leave in a cold place for half a day. Due to this, the mass acquires a thick consistency. Next, it is transferred to special bags to remove all excess liquid, and then kept for a day. That's it, the product is ready for packaging and consumption.
Mascarpone cheese has a creamy consistency that has a delicate taste with a noticeable creamy aftertaste. Most often, this product is painted white, although it can also acquire beige shades (see photo).
Selection and storage
When choosing mascarpone cheese, the first thing to do is look at the appearance of the product. The color should be white and the consistency should be smooth and creamy. It is worth paying attention to the fat content of dry matter, it should be at least 80%.
Mascarpone cheese refers to products that lose their freshness quickly enough. The product is best stored vacuum-packed in the refrigerator on a shelf near the freezer. If you have opened the package, the mascarpone cheese will remain fresh for 3 days.
Beneficial features
The benefits of mascarpone cheese are due to its rich composition of minerals and vitamins. This product also contains antioxidants, which contribute to resistance at the cellular level to the effects of negative external factors. In addition, they participate in hematopoiesis and strengthen the immune system. Mascarpone cheese contains tryptophan, an essential amino acid for the body, which helps more quickly and effectively cope with stress, fatigue, insomnia, and also normalize the nervous system as a whole.
This product contains calcium, which strengthens teeth, nails and bones. This cheese also contains vitamin A, which has a positive effect on vision. Mascarpone contains B vitamins, which normalize the activity of the nervous system and metabolism.
Use in cooking
Mascarpone cheese is consumed as an independent product, but most often it is used to make a variety of creams and sauces. In addition, this product is included in the recipes of numerous desserts, for example, everyone’s favorite “tiramisu” stands out among them. Mascarpone cheese is used in ravioli, and also as a filling for pancakes and various pastries. All in all, this product is universal, as it goes well with both sweet and salty foods.
Homemade recipe
If you don't trust the quality of mascarpone cheese sold in the store, you can make it at home, and the process is quite simple.
To make this product, take a liter of cream, the fat content of which should not be less than 33%.They need to be heated in a water bath to 85 degrees. Then add 2 tbsp to them. spoons of lemon juice and heat for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. When the cream begins to thicken, remove it from the heat and cool. The lid must be closed. Then you need to put gauze in a colander and pour out all the contents. Form a bag out of gauze and hang it for 12 hours to remove all unnecessary liquid.
The resulting mascarpone cheese should be stored in a sealed container in the refrigerator.
What can be replaced?
When it is not possible to buy or make mascarpone cheese, you can replace it. An excellent alternative is high-fat sour cream. To prepare dessert, use this fermented milk product with sugar. If you need a replacement not for sweet dishes, then add spices or herbs to the sour cream.
In addition, mascarpone cheese can be replaced with a mass that includes cream, cottage cheese, butter and milk.
Harmful effects of mascarpone cheese and contraindications
Mascarpone cheese can be harmful to people with individual intolerance to this product. Due to its significant fat content, it is worth limiting consumption or even avoiding this product altogether in case of obesity and hypertension. It is not recommended to eat this cheese for people with high cholesterol levels, as well as during periods of exacerbation of hepatitis and other gastrointestinal diseases. You should not consume large amounts of mascarpone cheese, as it can negatively affect the functioning of the cardiovascular system, pancreas and liver. There are contraindications to the use of this product in people with atherosclerosis.
Cheese can be different - hard and dense or soft and crumbly, sharp, salty or sour. And there are also varieties that do not look like cheese at all - they can be spread on bread with a knife or made into the most delicate desserts. Mascarpone is one of them. This is another gift from Italy, the sunny land of crispy pizza, hearty pasta, spicy Parmesan and tart wines.
There is a legend about how this cheese was invented. Lombardy, one of the regions of Italy, has been famous since ancient times for its cheese factories. According to the ancient recipe, the preparation of Parmesan required evening milk, left to sit overnight. As a result, the cream rose to the top - it had to be carefully collected. And the famous cheese was made from the remaining whey. But what to do with skim cream? The apprentice collected them in a separate pot, and then slowly ate them, spreading them on unleavened flatbread - this is how the first cream cheeses appeared.
Mascarpone cheese: what is it, descriptions and types
Mascarpa means "cottage cheese" in Lormbard dialect. But in fact, mascarpone is not at all similar to our usual curd mass. It is much softer, oilier and more homogeneous. And all because the cooking technology does not use rennet whey. It's very simple to do:
- in the highest quality, a certain amount of tartaric or citric acid is added;
- then the mass is gradually heated, but not brought to a boil;
- After this, the almost finished cheese is placed in a linen bag and hung to remove excess liquid.
The result is not a lump of sour cheese, but a dense, creamy mass. But if you overheat the cheese or add too much acid, nothing will come of it; the required consistency and taste will not be achieved.
Interesting! Real mascarpone cheese has a fat content of at least 80%, and there are absolutely no preservatives in it, so it is not stored for a long time. You can buy packages of different sizes, from 80 g to 500 g. There are buttery, creamy and dense mascarpone - the resulting variety depends on the fat content of the raw materials.
Chemical composition, nutritional value
Mascarpone is a product made from natural ingredients, so, of course, it contains many substances beneficial to humans. First of all, these are milk protein and lactic acid, easily digestible fats and calcium. Since the cheese undergoes gentle heat treatment and is not salted, it retains almost all the vitamins and minerals found in fresh milk:
- vitamins;
- vitamins, and PP;
- iron and potassium;
- and sodium.
The product is quite high in calories - 412 kcal per 100 grams.
Nutritional value 100 g:
- Proteins 6 g
- Fat 42 g
- Carbohydrates 6 g
Benefits of mascarpone cheese
The antioxidants contained in the product help the body fight the negative effects of the environment, strengthen the immune system, and participate in hematopoietic processes.
The presence of vitamins of different groups helps the functioning of the nervous system, strengthens the heart and blood vessels. Mascarpone cheese will be especially useful for those who suffer from increased irritability, are prone to mood swings, etc.
Important! This cheese will be very useful for children for bone growth and good vision; it is good to include it in the diet of pregnant women. It is also recommended for patients recovering from a serious illness.
Harm and contraindications
The only drawback of this delicacy is its fat content and calorie content. Therefore, people who suffer or are simply watching their figure should not get carried away with mascarpone.
Mascarpone is an oily or creamy mass of white or slightly cream color, packaged in plastic containers of various sizes with an airtight lid. After opening the lid, it should be stored in the refrigerator for no more than two days - then it deteriorates, separates and turns sour.
Important! Mascarpone cannot be frozen, as this will cause it to lose its amazing consistency and curdle after defrosting.
The use of this cheese, due to its delicate, neutral taste with a slightly noticeable sourness and creamy aftertaste, has no restrictions. In its pure form, it can be used to prepare original sandwiches and canapés; it will be delicious if you add chopped herbs, mushrooms or pieces of ham to the cheese.
Mascarpone tolerates high temperatures well and can be added to cheese soup, risotto or pasta sauce. In addition, this is an excellent option for creamy desserts - the most famous of them is aromatic, delicate tiramisu.
Unfortunately, in our country this delicious, delicious dairy product is not very common and is quite expensive. But you can try to prepare it yourself - provided you use high-quality raw materials, the result should be no worse than the original.
