Mascarpone
	Product: A creamy cheese made by souring cream skimmed from cow's milk.
	Form and Dimensions: While it was once sold in bricks of 100-200 grams (3 1/2-7 ounces), the cheese is now available in bulk and by weight.
	Characteristics: Mascarpone has a milky white color and is a thick cream that can be easily spread. When it is extremely fresh, it has a pronounced odor of milk and cream. It is fresh, sweet and soft to the taste. When produced by artisans, the cheese can possess a lightly acidulous aftertaste. It supplies 453 calories for each 100 grams (3 1/2 oz.). The fat content is relatively high, 47%, and the cheese contains little protein.
	Consumption: Mascarpone is used in a host of preparations, both sweet and savory. It can be consumed alone, except for the addition of a bit of sugar, or in combination with zabaione. When added to pastry creams, it makes them softer and lighter. It can be blended with tomato sauce and to flavor pasta. It also makes a good pasta sauce along with a bit of Gruyre blended in. Mascarpone can also be used used in place of butter to thicken and enrich risotti.
	Production Area: Mascarpone is a specialty of Lombardy and it is used in the preparation of numerous regional dishes. It is now sold virtually everywhere in practical containers in which the cheese will keep for several days.
	Processing: Mascarpone is made from fresh cream, with a minimum fat content of 25%, that is skimmed after rising naturally to the surface of the milk. That milk is obtained from cows that have fed exclusively on fresh forage. The cream is poured into metal containers and heated in a double boiler until it attains a temperature of 85 degrees C. (185° F.). Tartaric acid blended in water is then added. After a short time, the mixture thickens, becoming extremely dense. The cheese is then poured into containers and allowed to rest for 12 hours in refrigerated chambers. Afterward, the Mascarpone is separated from the whey. It is placed in cloth bags and allowed to purge additional whey for a further 24 hours.
	History: Mascarpone's origins go back many centuries. It appears to have originated in the area between Lodi and Abbiategrasso, west and south of Milan, in Lombardy. There are various hypotheses about the origin of the name. There are those who link the term to a Spanish expression, "mas que bueno," which means "even better than good." As such, it appears to have been a judgment passed on the quality of the cheese by a Spanish official during the 17th century when Spain dominated Lombardy. Others connect the name with the word "mascarpa", a milk product made from the whey of a stracchino or aged cheese. In addition, it is argued that the name is derived from "mascarpia", a term in the local dialect for ricotta, and may have been applied because the two cheeses are made by a virtually identical process. Mascarpone could, therefore, have originated as a by-product from the processing of other cheeses. Long ago, it was produced only in the autumn and winter and sold immediately, wrapped in cheesecloth, for consumption the same day.
	Storage: The cheese is sold immediately after processing. If it is kept in a refrigerator, it can last about one week.
	About Italian cheese