Hello John!
Thursday November 07 1996 00:49, John Prather wrote to Ian Hoare:
 JP> I remember a mess of truffle recipes a few months back.  I thought I
 JP> saved them but I can't seem to find them anywhere.
I don't know what happened to them, then because I never saw them (scowl).
 JP> Also I have a question.  What is mascarpone cheese?
It is a double (heavy) cream version of cottage or cream cheese, with a fat 
content of 80%! It doesn't taste much like any cream cheese I've ever had (I 
hate the latter, but ADORE mascarpone - or rather, dishes made with it).
 JP> expensive and difficult to find in my area.
Badness!
 JP>   I have heard that there is a suitable substitute for this.
I have seen a number of Tiramisu recipes using substitutes, which may or may 
not be good, I've looked at some of them and shuddered! To my way of 
thinking, it does no particular harm to eat something with a high fat 
content, once in a blue moon. To try to make a "low fat" substitute so that 
you can eat it weekly seems to me to be asinine. So I'm not a good person to 
ask about this. HOWEVER. good news, because recently, the recipe below 
arrived on "Cooking", posted by fellow gourmet Barrie Lax.
 JP> some combination of sour cream, cream cheese and brie.  If so how
 JP> does it hold up to comparison.
I think that would be FAR too strongly sour. Mascarpone is not really sour at 
all. More like a fromage blanc (curdled milk, strained) than sour anything.
=== Cut ===
MMMMM----- Recipe via Meal-Master (tm) v8.04
      Title: Mascarpone (To Make)
 Categories: Misc, Info, Dairy, Italian
      Yield: 2 cups
      4 c  Heavy whipping cream
    1/4 ts Tartaric acid
  Line a mesh strainer with a dish cloth folded over to make a double
  thickness. Rest the strainer over a bowl, making sure the strainer
  does not touch the bottom of the bowl. Set aside.
  Heat the cream in a double boiler over medium high heat. When the
  cream reaches 180 degrees F, add the tartaric acid and stir for 30
  seconds. Remove the cream from the stove and continue to stir for
  another 2 minutes.
  Pour the cream into a lined strainer and refrigerate. When it is cold,
  cover it with plastic wrap. Let the cream sit in the refrigerator for
  12 to 18 hours. It will become very thick and firm. The mascarpone
  will keep for a week in the refrigerator. Makes 2 cups.
  Now you can make all the Tiramasu you want.
  Recipe Barrie Lax
MMMMM
=== Cut ===
All the Best
Ian
--- GoldED 2.50.A0918+
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