You probably know mascarpone cheese as a key player in tiramisu, the chocolatey, espresso-infused layered Italian dessert. But it’s so much more than that. Make extra creamy scrambled eggs by folding mascarpone cheese into the mix or spread it on a piece of toast and top it with smoked salmon and chives.
But what exactly is mascarpone cheese? And how is it different from sour cream, cream cheese, or crème fraîche…or is it? Mascarpone is essentially an Italian version of cream cheese, though with a slightly higher fat content; mascarpone must have 40 percent fat, while cream cheese only needs to have 33 percent. Cream cheese is also tangier than mascarpone, which tends toward the richer side of things. In fact, mascarpone most closely resembles French crème fraîche. Both are soured by lactic culture, but mascarpone is a little sweeter and milder. That’s why it’s so prominent in sweet desserts; while sour cream, for example, can certainly add body and richness to cheesecake, coffee cake, and pound cake, it isn’t exactly a flavor most home bakers put front and center (the exception being this wildly delicious Peach & Sour Cream Ice Cream from Alice Medrich).
Comments
Post a Comment