Thursday, May 27, 2010

How I made Mascarpone Cheese at Home


Yes, we can easily make Mascarpone cheese from Amul Fresh Cream, readily available in almost all retail chains in India. After a tiring hunt for Mascarpone cheese in Chennai, I consoled myself thus, as I knew the cheese wouldn't survive while transportation, even if I could get it. :(

To make 6 oz or 3/4 cup or a large orange sized ball of cheese:

Amul Fresh Cream(25%)- 300 ml (one and a half tetra packs)
Fresh lime juice- a tbsp

Well, Amul Fresh Cream confronts us as 200 ml tetra packs sitting pretty on general racks of major stores and I was lucky enough to grab two of them from Spencers Daily of Gandhi Nagar during my latest Chennai visit ( no luck in Besant Nagar, my usual place).

I opened both the packs, emptied the first one completely and half from the second one (a total of 300ml) into my 1.5 ltr milk cooker, (remember Indian milk cookers are the perfect double boilers) removed the 'whistle' as I din't really want the shrill disturbing noise while stirring the cream ;).

Placing the cooker with cream on a medium high flame, I waited till the cream started simmering, expecting to see bubbles on the sides of the pan as I was told. To my disappointment I failed to spot the bubbles even after 20 minutes and I was at a risk of boiling off the water completely from the double boiler. The cream was really HOT and added a tbsp of fresh lime juice. Gentle stirs but no fine streaks of separation of whey from the solid protein!!!.

I was losing my heart!

Yeah, I found myself stirring the cream continuously on a mild flame and could see the cream getting thicker, but still no streaks of liquid part!

Next, I placed the damp cheese cloth, folded twice, on a metal sieve which I placed carefully on a bowl.I poured the hot thick cream carefully on the sieve,lined with cheese cloth.

Alas! I could hear that wonderful sound of liquid trickling down from the sieve!!!...
YAY!! Not a disaster, for sure!..the cream had the consistency of 'hung curd' at this stage.

I refrigerated the whole set, overnight and was overjoyed to see the firm cheese(yay) and whey, down in the bowl which measured almost 20 ml :)


Hugs to my sweet girls, Swapna, Ria and Divya for clearing my silliest doubts and for making the post, Possible! :).

29 comments:

  1. Hey Bharathy..making the cheese in a Milk cooker is a brilliant idea!!I made this a while back too and had the same experience as you..it didn't bubble up even after 15 minutes,blame my interest on a movie,I went ahead and added the lime juice anyway,bubble or no bubble.It thickened almost instantly and firmed up beautifully after a night's stay in the fridge..:):).

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  2. Good Attempt Bharathy! Liked the way you explained how you made it. (unmai solrathukkum oru thyriyam venum illa)

    Iam going to try this soon. but what did u make with these cheese?

    Looking forward for your next post!!

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  3. Great to know that divya!...I should add your name too....as you were the one who let me know abt amul in Spencer's! :)...Cooker idea by Swapna ;) :)!!

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  4. I made the cheese for the DB and love dit, now you can make so many desserts with tehm Bharathy. As they are so good in desserts and in pasta dishes too.

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  5. Lavi..thanx dear!...Unmayee vellum ;)...stay tuned for the next post! :)..

    I have yet to lay my hands on this one, Finla..:)

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  6. Hi Bharthy
    Glad your cheese came out really well, I remember you were asking for the recipe...Here in U.K we get lots, but after seeing yours I would love to try my hands on this too..do drop in sometimes

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  7. Thats great effort bharathy,sure will help many,this variety is new to me,thanks for this post,I will too wait for the recipe using this cheese!

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  8. Wow grt job dear......just a curiousity..What did u do with the cheese ?

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  9. Cheese looks real gud, you got it just perfect I guess..the post going to help all willing to make this cheese now ...will wait for your yummy recipes using this cheese now :)

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  10. I like your recipe. Would this work for making rasmalai?

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  11. HC, I know you are an expert when it comes to these..:)

    Jagruthi, Loved your smoothie treat!

    Thank yoo Raks!

    Vineetha and Priti, 'stay tuned'! ;)

    No,Princess, the mascarpone won't work for rasamalai..
    we use cottage cheese/ paneer balls for those.Masarpone is more or less like frozen thick curd which turn soft and creamy in room temp..used for cream filling as layers cakes, puddings etc..

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  12. அருமையான செய்முறை...

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  13. that looks wonderful..am looking forward for your next posts..

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  14. Wowwwwww.. perfect.. thanks for sharing dear.. :)

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  15. This looks so creamy. Nice recipe. YUM!

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  16. Wow, that has come out sooooooooooooooooo well !!! Love the texture.

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  17. Wow Bharathy nice way to make mascaporne cheese at home.Cheese looks very delicious and soft.Waiting for your recipes with it.

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  18. Beautiful cheese Bharathy...lovely texture..am eager to see ur bakes with this cheese..

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  19. Yeayyyy! You did it! I am so glad it worked out well for you :) Even I used to use milk boiler at times as a double boiler :)

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  20. Lovely!! Home made mascarpone is always excellent!!

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  21. Hey thas a nice one....liked it...

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  22. Milk cooker as double boiler is a great idea. Interesting write up.

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  23. mmmm lovely idea...very creative....Love that pic....
    Do drop in sometime

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  24. Finally you overcome all the fear and made those perfect mascarpone cheese!! Nicely explained post Bharathy!!!

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  25. loving the pics!! hugssss!!!

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  26. I have seen bloggers making their own mascarpone in India but never had the heart to try. now you have inspired me. will try this soon.

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  27. You kicked out my fears of making this cheese :) Had thought about milk cooker before, but was wondering if it wud work.. Now, I can use my milk cooker without hesitation... :)

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  28. I love mascarpone cheese, it tastes sooo good. I never knew we can make it at home . Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe.
    We love to see your entry in to our Sizzling Summer Contest. check it out in ST. you could win one of two $50 prizes.

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