Clarifying butter (and ghee)
Intermediate Eggs and butter
Clarifying butter is melting butter and removing its water and milk solids to leave pure butterfat that tolerates higher heat.
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How do you do it?
- Melt butter slowly over low heat without stirring.
- Skim the white foam off the top with a spoon.
- Pour the clear yellow fat off, leaving the milky layer behind, or strain it through cheesecloth.
- For ghee, keep cooking until the solids brown lightly on the bottom before straining.
Why does it work?
The milk solids are what burn first when you fry in butter. Taking them out raises the smoke point well above whole butter's, and removing the water helps it keep longer.
What are the common mistakes?
- Rushing over high heat — the solids brown before you can separate them.
- Pouring off the milky layer too — cloudy butter that still burns.
Still stuck? Watch someone do it on YouTube.
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