One of the softest Italian cheeses you can get, mascarpone is known as the cornerstone ingredient of tiramisu and cheesecakes alike.
If you’ve read our other articles, or tried to freeze lots of different dairy products yourself, you might be a bit skeptical about freezing mascarpone.
While hard types of cheese freeze very well (see also How To Freeze Camembert Cheese), mascarpone is an extremely thick and soft cheese, served fresh.
Its saving grace is that it’s got a high butterfat content, which makes up about 75% of the cheese, making freezing possible.
Should You Freeze Mascarpone Cheese?
Maybe you’ve made a fantastic tiramisu (see also Can You Freeze Tiramisu?) or cheesecake, but the recipe called for much more mascarpone cheese than you actually needed, and now you’ve got too much.
You know you won’t use it before it goes off, so should you freeze it?
Thankfully, you can freeze it, provided that you try to minimize freezer burn at every step.
Frozen mascarpone cheese will change in texture compared to the fresh stuff, so it’s important to take steps to ensure it changes as little as possible.
Because mascarpone cheese has a very high level of fat content compared to other types of cheese, it will separate to some degree during the freezing and thawing process, so you will need to reconstitute it once it thaws.
How Do You Freeze Mascarpone Cheese?
For best results, start with the freshest cheese you can. Very fresh mascarpone cheese (see also Freezing Cheese Balls) freezes and thaws much better than mascarpone cheese that’s been sitting around for a while.
So if you’re making a delicious cheesecake or tiramisu, and you know you won’t need the rest of the tub of mascarpone, freeze the leftovers on the same day you buy it.
To begin with, stir the cheese. This will limit the amount of separation between the fat and the liquid content within the mascarpone once you thaw it.
Consider portioning the mascarpone cheese. If you know you won’t use it all in one go, divide it between small freezer bags, or small containers.
Remember, the larger the container and the emptier it is, the more likely that the mascarpone cheese (see also article on freezing paneer) will get freezer burn.
Pack the containers as full as possible, while still leaving room at the top for the mascarpone cheese to expand as it freezes.
If you’re worried about forgetting the mascarpone and accidentally crushing it and making a mess, you can transfer the freezer bag into a rigid container to protect it.
Seal the freezer bags or containers, making sure to get rid of as much excess air as possible. Make sure to label the container with the storage date, and stick the mascarpone cheese into the freezer.
You should only keep the mascarpone cheese in the freezer for a maximum of 3 months, after that it will start to degrade in quality, and you’ll notice a big change in texture, and possibly flavor, too.
Consider Using A Food Vacuum Sealer
If you have a food vacuum sealer, you can use this instead. Make sure to use a vacuum bag, and decant the cheese into it. Let the vacuum sealer seal the bag, label it, and freeze it.
Because the machine takes out every inch of excess air, the mascarpone cheese will last much longer, and it’s less prone to freezer burn, which will limit how much the mascarpone cheese will alter in texture to an extent.
How Do You Defrost Mascarpone Cheese?
The only way to thaw mascarpone cheese is to let it thaw overnight in the fridge. Take it out of the freezer the night before you need it, and put it straight into the fridge.
Defrosting dairy products by leaving them out on the counter is asking for trouble, and you could end up with food poisoning, not to mention a disappointing ingredient. Let it thaw at its own pace.
Once the mascarpone cheese has completely defrosted, decant it into a large bowl. You’ll have noticed by now that the cheese will have separated to some degree, and it may look gritty.
Luckily, this is fairly easy to fix. Grab a whisk or an electric hand mixer, whichever you prefer, and mix the cheese until it looks like fresh mascarpone, and it’s ready to use.
