Homemade Mascarpone Cheese

Step-by-step cooking

1. Step 1:

   

   Prepare the necessary ingredients for making cheese. Depending on the fat content and quality of the cream, the final weight of the cheese directly depends. The fatter the cream, the less the whey will separate and the greater the mass of cheese will be. About 450 g of cheese is obtained from 1 liter of 20% cream. From 1 liter of 30% cream cheese will be about 700 g. Homemade mascarpone cream will turn out even tastier than store-bought ones.

2. Step 2:

   

   Pour cream into a saucepan with a thick bottom and walls. I used cream with a fat content of 20%.

3. Step 3:

   

   Put the cream on medium heat and, stirring frequently, heat them to a hot state. Steam should come from the saucepan with cream, but the cream itself is still far from boiling.

4. Step 4:

   

   Pour lemon juice into the hot cream. Stirring constantly, bring the cream to a temperature of 90-95 ° C. You need to check the heating temperature using a cooking thermometer. This is important! Without a thermometer, the cream can be boiled and the cheese will not turn out so soft. The thermometer helps to remove the cream from the fire in time, while bringing it to the very edge of boiling.

5. Step 5:

   

   In the process of heating, the milk protein in the cream will curdle and small tender grains will appear in the mass. These grains are fat separated from the whey, which will form the basis of our cheese. The more fat and less whey, the more tender and larger the cheese will be.

6. Step 6:

   

   While the cream is heating, place a sieve or colander over a deep bowl and cover it with gauze folded in 4-5 layers, or a thick cotton cloth.

8. Step 7:

   

   Heated to the desired temperature (90-95°C) pour the cream into a colander lined with gauze and leave the mass to cool completely.

9. Step 8:

   

   When the cream cools down, most of the whey will drain into a bowl. Drain the serum. Carefully wrap the edges of the gauze over the creamy mass and put the future mascarpone in the refrigerator for 1 day.

10. Step 9:

    

    The next day, the cheese will thicken sufficiently and will resemble the consistency of chilled butter.

11. Step 10:

    

    Put pressure on the cheese wrapped in cheesecloth and return it to the refrigerator for another day. This is necessary to remove excess moisture from the cheese.

12. Step 11:

    

    The next day the cheese is ready. Homemade mascarpone cheese has a delicate consistency and tastes very similar to store-bought. It can be spread on bread or added to pastries. If cream with a fat content of 20-22% was used, then the cheese will crumble when trying to cut a piece from it. The cream is fatter and the cheese is more tender. Bon appetit!