You are most likely to run across mascarpone in the Italian cake Tiramisù. In Italy, a favorite preparation is savory, mixing the cheese with anchovies, mustard and spices and spreading it on bread. But it is often just served with fruit, or it can be mixed with cocoa or coffee.

There are all kinds of interesting recipes available online that include mascarpone — both sweet and savory.

The biggest problem with mascarpone is that most people (even prominent people who have their own television cooking shows) pronounce is as if the r is before the s instead of in front of the p. These may well be the very same people who pronounce nuclear nuk-u-ler. And even when you discreetly point it out to them, they don’t apologize or make the slightest effort to change. What is with those people?