How to Clarify Butter

Clarifying butter means gently melting it so it separates into three layers, then keeping only the pure golden butterfat in the middle. Without its water and milk solids, butter can take much higher heat without burning and keeps far longer.

Why clarify butter?

Butter is an emulsion of about 80 to 82 percent fat, 15 to 17 percent water and 1 to 2 percent milk solids (mostly the proteins casein and whey, plus lactose). The milk solids are what burn when you fry in whole butter. They start to scorch around 150 to 175 °C / 300 to 350 °F, well below the temperature you need for a good sear.

Remove them and the smoke point jumps to roughly 230 to 250 °C / 450 to 485 °F. You keep butter's rich flavour but gain a fat you can actually sear with.

There are other benefits:

• Longer shelf life. Water and proteins are what bacteria and moulds need. Pure butterfat is very stable.
• Cleaner sauces. Classic hollandaise uses clarified butter because the extra water in whole butter can loosen the emulsion.
• Lactose and casein reduced. Most of both are skimmed away, so some people who are sensitive to dairy tolerate it better. It is not guaranteed dairy-free.

What the three layers are

When you melt butter gently and leave it alone, it sorts itself by density.

1. Top: foam. Whey proteins and trapped air float up as a white froth.
2. Middle: butterfat. Clear, golden liquid. This is what you keep.
3. Bottom: milky water. Water, dissolved salt and the heavier casein sink.

Heat drives off some of the water as steam, which is why it bubbles. When the bubbling slows, most of the water is gone and the layers are easy to separate.

Steps

1. Cut unsalted butter into cubes and put it in a small heavy saucepan.
2. Melt it over low heat without stirring.
3. Let it bubble gently for 5 to 10 minutes until the foam rises and the bubbling slows.
4. Skim the white foam off the surface with a spoon.
5. Take the pan off the heat and let it stand for 2 to 3 minutes so the solids settle.
6. Slowly pour the clear yellow fat through a sieve lined with cheesecloth, leaving the milky layer behind.
7. Cool, then cover and store the clarified butter in a clean jar.

Work with at least 225 g (1 cup). Small amounts are hard to separate, and you lose a bigger share to the pan.

Other methods

The cold-set method. Melt the butter, then pour everything into a container and refrigerate it until the fat sets solid. Lift off the hard disc of fat, scrape the solids off its underside and pour away the liquid. Re-melt and strain for perfect clarity. It's slower but almost foolproof.

The microwave. Microwave cubed butter in a tall, microwave-safe glass jug on medium power until fully melted and bubbling, about 2 to 3 minutes for 225 g. Let it stand, skim, and pour. Cover loosely; it spits.

The ghee route. Keep cooking after step 3 until the solids at the bottom turn golden brown and the butter smells nutty, then strain. That's ghee. See clarified butter vs ghee for the details.

Yield and conversions

Expect about 75 to 80 percent of the starting weight.

If a recipe asks for clarified butter by volume, start with about 25 percent more whole butter than the amount you need.

Storage

Clarified butter keeps in a clean, sealed jar at cool room temperature for a few weeks, in the fridge for about 6 months, and in the freezer for a year. Always use a clean, dry spoon. Introducing water or crumbs gives microbes a foothold.

Common mistakes and fixes

Too much heat. High heat browns the solids and churns the layers together. Keep it at a lazy simmer.

Stirring. Stirring mixes the foam and solids back into the fat. Leave it alone until you skim.

Pouring too fast. Pour slowly and stop when you see the milky layer reach the lip. Leaving a spoonful of fat behind is better than pouring solids in.

Cloudy result. A few solids got through. Re-melt and strain through a coffee filter.

Grainy texture after chilling. That's normal. Butterfat crystallizes as it cools. It melts smooth again in the pan.