Loki wrote:

> il Tue, 18 May 2004 04:41:04 GMT, Reg ha scritto:
>
>> Loki wrote:
>>
>>> Does anyone have experience with making their mascarpone? The
>>> recipes on the net vary so much in quantites of tartaric acid
>>> to cream. I'd also love it in metric if possible. :-)
>>>
>> You *must* use fresh, unadulterated cream. Ultra pasteurized
>> cream is especially bad and won't coagulate properly.
>
> What's ultra pasterised? Do you mean ordinary pasteurised or
> something else? I won't be able to get untreated cream.

Ultrapasteurized cream is heated to a higher temperature than has been
the case in the past. It has a cooked taste and its culinary
characteristics are altered as a result.

>> Mascarpone
>>
>> 1 Q light cream or half & half 1/4 t tartaric acid
>
> What's light cream? Or half and half? We have cream and that's it.
> It's about 35-38% fat.

Light cream or half and half run 10% to 15% milkfat. I've never tried
to make it with these lighter creams. I make mine with full-fat cream
(depending on what's easily available, from 30% to 40% fat) and I use
citric acid in the ratio of about a quart (liter - close enough) to a
couple generous pinches of citric acid. I do one pinch, wait a while
to see what sort of coagulation I'm getting. If it's still runny, I
add more. The instructions below are pretty much how I proceed.

>> Heat cream to 180-185 F, remove from heat. add tartaric acid. If
>> cheese does not coagulate add a bit more. Too much will make it
>> grainy.
>>
>> Drain using cheesecloth or coffee filter. Keeps for up to one
>> week.

I drain it in the fridge for a full 24 hours through a piece of filter
paper. The gently sour/tart whey goes into soups and sauces. I've
added a little of it to guacamole and I like it.

>>> P.S. I haven't found a cheese newsgroup.
>>
>> alt.cheese
>
> Thanks. I wasn't sure if it was 'cheese' :-)

Definition issue: cheeses are typically cultured. This one isn't. I
don't really think of it as a cheese, but for the sake of common usage
and international harmony, I call it mascarpone cheese.

I also make a cultured cream that ends up like mascarpone by adding a
yogurt culture to scalded cream and later, like the next day, add the
citric acid. I have no idea if anyone else does this; never seen
anything like it anywhere else, but it's good. The cream thickens up
nice and tight and the citric acid seems to make the watery stuff come
out. Drain for a few hours. Luscious.

Pastorio