What is clarified butter?
Barbara M. New York, NY I think there’s lots of confusion out there about what is clarified butter. Clarified butter is butter which has been slowly heated up in order to separate the white milk solids (which burn at high heat) from the butter fat. The milk solids (which sink to the bottom of the pan) are discarded and the pure butter fat (clarified butter) which remains is saved for frying and sauteeing. CLARIFYING BUTTER IS NOT A METHOD USED TO LOWER THE FAT CONTENT OF BUTTER. Chefs clarify butter because it has a higher smoking point and they can fry or saute in it without its burning. If lower fat content is what you are after, use non-stick skillets which require less fat, use vegetable oil, which is unsaturated, and use the vegetable oil in minimum quantities. If you yearn for the flavor of butter, then add a tiny pat of regular butter at the end of cooking time.
Clarified butter is a purified, thicker form of butter that’s been melted and has had the water and milk solids separated from the clarified or clear part. Because the water has been extracted, clarified butter will not burn at high temperatures, and, therefore, is most commonly used as a fat for cooking, or as a base for sauces like Hollandaise and Béarnaise. The disadvantage of using clarified butter is that much of the butter flavor is lost in the process of clarification. Our 86% butterfat Cultured Butter is the best alternative to clarifying butter!
Clarified butter, called ghee in Indian cuisine, is a type of butter that is a liquid and clear gold in color. It is butter from which much of the additional moisture and milk solids have been removed through a careful process of heating and straining, sometimes called rendering. Ghee can keep for several months in the refrigerator, tends to be slightly lower in calories, and is used in a variety of sauces, or merely as a dip. Lobster would not be quite the same without being dipped into the clarified butter with which it is normally served. Though you can occasionally buy ghee in Asian or Indian markets, it’s also quite easy to make at home. You should start out with unsalted butter, since salt can ruin the clarifying process. You can make clarified butter in small batches or large, with literally one cube at a time or several pounds at a time. Since milk solids are removed, you will end up with less butter than you began with, so you may want to bear this in mind and make a slightly
