Why Clarify?

• Chefs clarify butter both for aesthetic and practical reasons. A stick of butter is not the same as a cup of oil. Oil is 100 percent fat, but butter contains milk proteins and sugars as well as the fats. These milk solid particles give butter its opaque coloring, and they are the reason behind butter's intense flavor when used in cooking. The problem comes from these proteins and sugars lowering the smoke point to 250 degrees Fahrenheit, compared to 350 degrees Fahrenheit for pure, clarified butter without those solids. Clarified butter is better for the high temperatures of sauteing than whole butter.
  
  

How It's Made

• Whole butter is clarified by melting it to separate it into three layers. The bottom layer is the undesirable milk solids, the middle is clarified butter and water is at the top. As it cooks, the water will turn to steam and escape, leaving behind the pure butterfat floating on top of the milk solids. Once the butter has completely separated in the pan, carefully pour the mixture through several layers of cheesecloth to strain out the solids, retaining only the butterfat. This is clarified butter. From an entire pound of butter, you will only get 1 1/2 cups of clarified butter, because the milk solids account for the remaining volume.
  
  

Storage

• The solids in butter are what bacteria feed on, causing the butter to become rancid so quickly. Removing these increases the shelf life and allows the butter to be stored at room temperature. The exact shelf life depends on how careful you were to remove the solids from the butterfat. The more residual milk solids left in the clarified butter, the faster rancidity will set in. The sour tang of rancid clarified butter is not dangerous, and in Tibet, it is the preferred serving for clarified yak butter, according to "What Einstein Told His Cook."
  
  

Uses

• Clarified butter is used as a clear butter condiment for dipping or for sauteing, but it will not have the same flavor as whole butter. Though butter is more eye-appealing when clarified, the removed milk solids also contain many of the signature flavor compounds of butter. Save these solids for a fully flavored buttery topping for popcorn or baked potatoes.