Food Lens · Dairy
Mascarpone
Rich, creamy, and mild with a faint sweetness and almost no tang.
Lens analyzedMascarpone is a soft, high-fat Italian cream cheese made by curdling cream rather than milk, giving it a texture closer to whipped butter than to block-style cheese. It has almost no tang, unlike cream cheese, which makes it work well in both sweet and savory dishes. Tiramisu is its best-known use, but it also folds into pasta sauces and frostings.
Where it comes from
Mascarpone developed in the Lombardy region of northern Italy as a way to use surplus cream from the local dairy industry. It stayed a regional product for a long stretch before tiramisu's popularity abroad in the late 1900s turned it into an internationally stocked ingredient.
Buying it
Check the tub for a smooth, glossy surface without visible watery separation, and look at the date since mascarpone doesn't keep as long as harder cheeses.
Storing it
Mascarpone needs constant refrigeration and a tight seal, since it's a high-moisture, fresh cheese that turns faster than aged varieties. Use what's left within a few days of opening the tub.
Keeps about 14 days in the fridge.
Recipes that use mascarpone
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