Clarified Butter and/or Ghee

1 pound of unsalted butter makes about 1 1/2 cups clarified butter or ghee or 72 teaspoons

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Clarified Butter or drawn butter: Regular butter is butterfat, milk solids, and water. Clarified butter is the translucent golden butterfat left over after removing the milk solids and water. In short, clarified butter is just butter that contains only pure butterfat. It has a higher smoke point than regular butter, thus allowing you to be able to cook at higher temperatures, and won't spoil as quickly.


Butter Ghee: Clarified butter and ghee are not the same. Ghee is clarified butter that has been cooked longer to remove all the moisture, and the milk solids are browned (caramelized) in the fat and then strained out. This gives a rich nutty taste. Ghee has a longer shelf life, both refrigerated and at room temperature. It is traditionally used in Indian cuisine.

Making Clarified Butter and Ghee Tips and Hints:
Always use unsalted butter. Use organic butter or the best butter you can buy. Cheap butter contains lots of water and chemicals, plus it burns much faster.

When making clarified butter always start with at least 25% more unsalted butter than the amount of clarified butter needed, as the volume is reduced during the melting and straining process.

Use a heavy bottomed and deep stainless steel pan. Make sure the pan you will be using is clean and dry.

Use low heat so the butter will not burn. Yes, turning up the heat will melt the butter faster, but the milk solids may begin to burn. For fast melting, cut the unsalted butter into pieces and melt slowly in a heavy saucepan for approximately 30 minutes.

Never cover the pan during the whole cooking process.

Chef's Tip - use a double boiler. This let you safely clarify your butter while busy elsewhere in the kitchen.

Storing clarified butter and ghee - They can both be stored, covered, without refrigeration in a glass or earthen jar for about six (6) months. At room temperature, they become semi-sold. With refrigeration, they both harden and can be stored, covered, for about one year. Do not let any water get into your clarified butter or ghee jar. A drop of water can easily promote bacteria and spoil them.

Using clarified butter and ghee - Clarified butter and ghee is great for sautéing because it does not burn as easily as ordinary butter. It is useful in all kinds of sauce making, especially the butter-based sauces like Hollandaise and Béarnaise. It is also a delicious accompaniment for lobster or crab. Use then in place of regular butter in your cooking.

How to Make Clarified Butter and How to Make Butter Ghee

The only difference in making both clarified butter and ghee is the length of the cooking time. The additional Ghee directions are in blue print below.

Place one (1) pound of unsalted butter in your pan. Over low heat, melt the butter. When the butter has completely melted, continue to heat it over low heat.

When the melted butter starts boiling, it will begin to foam and sputter a lot at first as the water boils off. Continue boiling the butter, uncovered.

As the butter melts, it will slowly separate into three (3) layers:
The top layer is a thin layer of foam (this is the butter's water content boiling off. The middle layer contains the liquid. The bottom layer is where most of the milk solids are. Slowly the liquid on top becomes increasingly transparent. When the clarified butter has a golden transparent color, there is very little foam left on the surface, and the solids have settled on the bottom, the clarified butter is ready. The cooking time is approximately 30 minutes, depending on the heat source and the kind of pot that you use. Remove from heat immediately as it can burn easily at this point.

Ghee: Continue to slowly cook over low heat, watching carefully and stirring occasionally, until solids on the bottom of the pan turn light brown and the liquid deepens to golden and turns translucent and fragrant. In addition, a rich aroma (aroma smells like popcorn) arises in the air. Immediately remove from the heat. Important - If you leave it on the heat too long, you will burn the residue and all of the ghee will have a burnt taste.

Ways to remove the foam and solids: Skim off the foam after removing from heat. Let the butter cool awhile to let more of the solids settle, and then pour or spoon out the clarified butter, leaving the remain milk solids in the pan.

Pour the hot melted cutter through cheesecloth, fine-mesh skimmer, or tea strainer to filter out the foam and solids that have settled, letting the clarified butter flow into a jar.

My favorite way - Pour the hot melted butter into a container and allow it to separate on its own while cooling, and then refrigerate. After it has solidified, you can easily scrape off the hardened foam on top. Use a gravy or fat separator to make the skimming easier. Strain the melted butter through a typical coffee filter.
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The advantages of making your own clarified butter and/or ghee:
1) You can choose the quality of butter used.
2) Home clarified butter and ghee tastes better.
3) Making your own is much cheaper than purchasing it.
4) No splatter or burning during sautéing. It has a high smoke point of 375°F.
5) The long shelf life (refrigerated or room temperature) of clarified butter or ghee is tolerated by those who are lactose intolerance.

Number of Servings: 72

Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user CHUCKLES0719.