Why Clarify Butter
When you clarify butter, you remove any remaining milk solids and water. This results in a few benefits such as:
– Raising the smoke point from 350 (regular butter) to 450. This means you can sear steaks and sautee at higher temperatures; as its the milk solids that burn when the butter gets to hot.
– Extends shelf life. Removing the water reduces rancidity and allows the butter to be stored like more traditional fats such as olive oil.
– By removing the milk solids you also remove any remaining lactose. This allows those that suffer from lactose intolerance to enjoy butter.
How to Clarify Butter
1) Purchase a good high quality unsalted butter. It is acceptable to use salted, there is just no way to determine how much salt will remain in the finished product.
2) Unwrap butter and place in the crock pot. Turn the crock pot to the middle setting and let the butter melt fully.
3) Once the butter is fully melted, turn heat up to high and allow butter to come to a soft boil.
4) Place a strainer over a bowl. Then place a folded piece of cheese cloth that is several layers thick in the strainer.
5) As the butter softly boils the milk solids with either rise to the top or sink. Every 10 minutes or so ladle off the solids on top. Strain thru cheese cloth to make sure you don’t waste any finished product. Turn down the heat as needed to keep butter from boiling too hard.
6) Once most the water has been boiled off, carefully strain remaining butter thru a new piece of cheese cloth being careful to leave in remaining water behind.
7) Let butter cool to room temp and place in container to store. Maybe be stored at room temp or in the refrigerator.
TIP!
Letting the milk solids stay in until brown before removing, will give the finished product a nice nutty flavor.
Butter softly boiling in crock pot & straining out the milk solids.
Clear finished product.
Blue Jean Wellness 