Questions & Answers - Butter Ghee, Clarified Butter

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Question:

I recently purchased an item which I was not to sure about but because I am an avid cook and baker, I really needed to try it and it did a wonderful thing for my homemade pound cake. Is there any butter by brand better than butter ghee to use for baking? I'd like to know what the chefs use. My pound cakes are the absolute BEST. One customer said, "There's no need to chew; they melt in your mouth." Any information concerning butter ghee is greatly appreciated. Thanks - Jackie (10/9/00)
 
 

Answers:

Restaurants buy it as "clarified butter." It is butter with all of the water and solids removed. Ghee will not scorch or burn and can be cooked at higher temperatures than any oil. It allows cooking with butter at a higher temperature before it will burn. It removes the milk solids from the butter and will last in the fridge for a long time! Ghee can be used in place of butter (it has a nutty more intense flavor). It can also be used for stir frying as the ghee making process removes the protein solids permitting it to be used in high temperature cooking.

Ghee is clarified butter that has been cooked longer to remove all the water so it can be stored for longer periods (both refrigerated and at room temperature). Ghee is used extensively in good Indian Cuisine.

 

How To Make Clarified Butter (butter ghee)
 Clarifying butter removes the water and milk solids, leaving pure butterfat. Clarified butter can be used at higher temperatures than normal butter.

  • 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.

    Cut the unsalted butter into pieces and melt slowly in a heavy saucepan or double boiler over low heat for approximately 30 minutes. The water in the butter will evaporate, and the milk solids will sink to the bottom of the pan. Froth will rise to the top.
     
  • Remove the pan from the heat and carefully skim the scum (white foam or froth) from the top with a spoon..
     
  • The milk solids will drop to the bottom of the saucepan and form a milky layer of sediment.  What is left in the middle is a pure golden-yellow liquid called clarified butter. Carefully ladle or pour off clear melted butter into another container, leaving the milk solids at the bottom of the saucepan. You might also strain the butter through a double layer of rinsed and squeezed cheesecloth.
     
  • Leave the ghee to cool for about two hours. Store in the refrigerator.