Mascarpone substitute?

[MysticYoYo]

Is there a healthier alternative to mascarpone? Giada has a fantastic recipe for Chicken with Mustard Mascarpone Marsala Sauce (can't rave about it enough!) but due to the mascarpone the fat/calorie content is over the top, something like 120 calories per tablespoon and 13.5 grams of fat. I get chest pains just reading the recipe.

I'd like to make this great recipe again; is there a substitute that will lend a similar taste/texture to the dish and that won't shorten the lifespan of my guests?

[MysticYoYo]

Wiki says that "Mascarpone is a triple-cream cheese made from crème fraîche by denaturing with rennet", so it would appear that mascarpone and crème fraîche would have the same fat content. I could be wrong of course.

Recipezaar has some recipes for a substitute but i was looking for an already made substitute.

[Gio]

I suppose you could use drained...plain non-fat yogurt. But there's just something about that moscarpone.

[alkapal]

the substitutions on this site may be just as fatty:
http://gourmetsleuth.com/equivalents_substitutions.asp?index=M&tid=1871

this has some other substitution ideas, maybe useful.....
http://www.pastrywiz.com/season/tira2...
e.g., whipped cottage cheese or whipped ricotta

[chowser]

You could try low fat cream cheese--the neufchatel.

[pilotgirl210]

Exactly, chowser. Mascarpone is an Italian cream cheese. If I were to tell you my last name, you'd know I know of what I speak......tee hee. I often make lasagna with low fat cream cheese, as mascarpone is sometimes difficult to find out here in the *sticks*.

[sirregular]

You can definitely get by with low fat cream cheese in that recipe. It should maintain a similar consistency,and the subtle flavors of the mascarpone are likely to get a bit muddled anyhow. You might be well off to whip the cream cheese beforehand, though, else it may seem a little gritty.

My Blog: http://www.epicureforum.com

[alkapal]

lots of evil ubiquitous vegetable gums in low-fat cream cheese. digestive consequences....

[chowser]

You can always make your own if it bothers you.

http://biology.clc.uc.edu/Fankhauser/...

[alkapal]

thanks!

[eefoodgeek]

you could use low fat sour cream or yogurt and get the same results. i just checked out her recipe and a cup of mascarpone is a LOT! i'm not sure what the thickness of the final dish is supposed to be, but any of those white liquids (sour cream, yogurt, heavy cream ) would most likely work.

or you could experiment to see how little mascarpone you can get away with using without compromising the dish.

i wonder, does creme fraiche have less calories?