马斯卡邦 (Mǎsīkǎbāng): mascarpone (Italian fresh cream…

Phonetic transliteration of Italian 'mascarpone': 马 (mǎ, 'horse'), 斯 (sī, generic 's-' syllable), 卡 (kǎ, '-ca-'), 邦 (bāng, '-pone'). Often followed by 奶酪 (nǎilào, 'cheese') or 芝士 (zhīshì, also 'cheese,' Cantonese-derived) to make the meaning unambiguous. Less common variants: 马斯卡彭 / 马斯卡波尼.

culture

Mascarpone, originating in Lombardy, became massively familiar in Chinese kitchens through tiramisu (提拉米苏), which is by far the most-cited Italian dessert in Chinese coffee shops and bakeries. As a result, many Chinese consumers know mascarpone primarily as 'the cheese in tiramisu.'