Homemade Mascarpone
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Homemade mascarpone is delicious, easy to make, and much more affordable than the store-bought version. You only need 2 simple ingredients to make it.
Mascarpone is a wonderful delicacy. Its smooth, creamy texture is a central ingredient in tiramisu, and it can also be used in risotto and pasta dishes or as a spread.
The problem with delicacies like this is their high cost. You can imagine my excitement when I discovered that homemade mascarpone is easy to make. Actually, that’s an understatement. It’s nearly effortless, and it contains just two ingredients.
The hardest part of the process for me was tracking down cream that wasn’t ultra-pasteurized. After consulting several different recipes, I learned that mascarpone requires cream that is pasteurized but not ultra-pasteurized, although I imagine raw cream would work well too. My mainstream grocery stores only carry ultra-pasteurized cream, but luckily a trip to Whole Foods yielded more than one option for pasteurized cream.
Recommended Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups pasteurized heavy cream
- 1 tbs lemon juice
Instructions
- In a medium pot, heat the cream to 190 degrees.
- Add the lemon juice. Continue to simmer the cream for 5 minutes at 190 to 200 degrees, stirring constantly. The cream will thicken a bit, but it won’t separate like it does when you make homemade ricotta.
- Remove the cream from the stove and let it cool for 45 minutes. It will thicken as it cools.
- Set a fine-mesh strainer over a large bowl. Line the strainer with several layers of cheesecloth, or my favorite, butter muslin. (I love this muslin because it’s more tightly woven than traditional cheesecloth and it can go in the washing machine.)
- Pour the cream into the lined strainer and cover. Strain the mascarpone in the refrigerator for 8-12 hours, until it reaches the consistency you want. Transfer it to an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Approximate Nutrition Info
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Homemade Mascarpone Price Breakdown
This recipe yields 12 ounces of mascarpone and it costs $3.36. This quantity of store-bought mascarpone costs $7.49, more than twice the price of the homemade version. Homemade mascarpone is so simple to make, and you will love its creamy, delicious flavor.
If saving money on real food is a goal of yours, I recommend you also try your hand at homemade ricotta cheese and homemade yogurt. Homemade ricotta costs less than half what you’d pay for the store-bought version, and homemade yogurt costs four times less than what you buy at the store.
You can use this mascarpone to make these fabulous Grown Up Mascarpone S’Mores.
Love this cant wait to try it! Thank you
Hello! I wondered if you have tried making mascarpone in your IP? I’m new to the IP world and will try the ricotta in the IP! Do you know how I would turn it into ricotta salada?
Thanks!
I haven’t tried this in the Instant Pot, but thanks for the idea! I need to try that. I’m not sure about ricotta salada.
Hello Anne. I’m so encouraged to make both your ricotta and mascarpone cheese. Do you think i can also use distilled white vinegar or cream of tartar to the mascarpone?
Thank you. X o
I haven’t tried it that way, but I bet it would work with vinegar. Let me know if you give it a try!
Thank you for sharing this and your ricotta recipe.
Do you have a recipe for an easy clotted cream, like they make in Cornwall and Devonshire to serve on scones? (One that doesn’t involve using raw milk left out on the counter for 2 days.)
I don’t have a recipe for clotted cream. Sorry!
Love this!
Thanks!
Thanks for sharing!
Do you refrigerate when straining? Thanks
Thanks for the question. Yes, refrigerate while straining. I will edit the instructions.
Annemarie,
I’ve gotten the hang of getting my whole milk marked down for other-than-drinking uses, though I have yet to make more than buttermilk w/ it, but now I’ll keep an eye out for cream.
Thanks!
I’ve got to keep my eye out for near-expiration date cream too. Great idea!
Wow! How easy is this? Love it!
Thanks, Jill! Any recipe this easy is worth trying, right?