Clarified butter is

milk fat Butterfat or milkfat is the fatty portion of milk. Milk and cream are often sold according to the amount of butterfat they contain. Composition Butterfat is mainly composed of triglycerides. Each triglyceride contains three fatty acids. Butt ...

rendered from

butter Butter is a dairy product made from the fat and protein components of churned cream. It is a semi-solid emulsion at room temperature, consisting of approximately 80% butterfat. It is used at room temperature as a spread, melted as a condimen ...

to separate the

milk solids Powdered milk, also called milk powder, dried milk, or dry milk, is a manufactured dairy product made by evaporating milk to dryness. One purpose of drying milk is to preserve it; milk powder has a far longer shelf life than liquid milk and d ...

and water from the

butterfat Butterfat or milkfat is the fatty portion of milk. Milk and cream are often sold according to the amount of butterfat they contain. Composition Butterfat is mainly composed of triglycerides. Each triglyceride contains three fatty acids. But ...

. Typically, it is produced by melting butter and allowing the components to separate by

density Density (volumetric mass density or specific mass) is the substance's mass per unit of volume. The symbol most often used for density is ''ρ'' (the lower case Greek letter rho), although the Latin letter ''D'' can also be used. Mathematical ...

. The water evaporates, some solids (i.e.

whey Whey is the liquid remaining after milk has been curdled and strained. It is a byproduct of the manufacturing of cheese or casein and has several commercial uses. Sweet whey is a byproduct resulting from the manufacture of rennet types of har ...

proteins) float to the surface and are skimmed off, and the remainder of the milk solids (

casein Casein ( , from Latin ''caseus'' "cheese") is a family of related phosphoproteins ( αS1, aS2, β, κ) that are commonly found in mammalian milk, comprising about 80% of the proteins in cow's milk and between 20% and 60% of the proteins in hum ...

) sink to the bottom and are left behind when the butterfat (which would then be on top) is poured off or separated with a

separatory funnel A separatory funnel, also known as a separation funnel, separating funnel, or colloquially sep funnel, is a piece of laboratory glassware used in liquid-liquid extractions to separate (''partition'') the components of a mixture into two immiscib ...

or a gravy fat separator. This butterfat is the clarified butter. Commercial methods of production also include direct evaporation, but may also be accomplished by

decantation Decantation is a process for the separation of mixtures of immiscible liquids or of a liquid and a solid mixture such as a suspension. The layer closer to the top of the container—the less dense of the two liquids, or the liquid from which t ...

and centrifugation followed by vacuum drying; or direct from cream by breaking the emulsion followed by centrifugation.

Properties

Clarified butter has a higher

smoke point The smoke point, also referred to as the burning point, is the temperature at which an oil or fat begins to produce a continuous bluish smoke that becomes clearly visible, dependent upon specific and defined conditions. Smoke point values can va ...

() than regular butter (), and is therefore preferred in some cooking applications, such as

sautéing Sautéing or sauteing (, ; in reference to tossing while cooking) is a method of cooking that uses a relatively small amount of oil or fat in a shallow pan over relatively high heat. Various sauté methods exist. Description Ingredients for ...

. Clarified butter also has a much longer shelf life than fresh butter. It has negligible amounts of lactose and

and is, therefore, acceptable to most who have a

lactose intolerance Lactose intolerance is a common condition caused by a decreased ability to digest lactose, a sugar found in dairy products. Those affected vary in the amount of lactose they can tolerate before symptoms develop. Symptoms may include abdominal pai ...

or casein allergy.

Regional variations

cuisine of the Indian subcontinent Cuisine of the Indian subcontinent includes the cuisines from the Indian subcontinent comprising the traditional cuisines from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Staples and common ingredients Chapati, a ...

, ghee is made by cooking clarified butter longer during the separation process in order to

caramelize Caramelization is a process of browning of sugar used extensively in cooking for the resulting sweet nutty flavor and brown color. The brown colors are produced by three groups of polymers: caramelans (C24H36O18), caramelens (C36H50O25), and ...

the milk solids, resulting in a nutty flavor when they are filtered out. In

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

, there is a local custom where hot water is added to butter while the milk or whey is still within the butter. This mixture is then placed into a separate vessel where it is brought to a boil. Wheat flour or roasted and ground fenugreek seeds is mixed with roasted wheat kernels, and cooked with the butter on low heat – allowed to simmer. Afterwards, the butter is strained until a clear batch of liquid clarified butter remains.* It may be stored in an earthenware container in a cool place, or in a smoked container to impart its flavor. In

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

, ghee or "yellow oil" is widely consumed with traditional milk tea.

References

{{Authority control Butter Cooking fats Sauces Indian dairy products

Properties

Regional variations

See also

References