Clarified butter, sometimes called ghee, is simply butter that has been heated low and slow and then strained of the remaining milk solids (casein and whey) for a “purer” butter. I discovered this form of butter when I started my first Whole30 about 5 years ago. I knew I was going to miss milk for that month, so I was thrilled to be able to at least enjoy some buttery flavor those 4 weeks. So I set out to learn how to make clarified butter.
After my Whole30 experience, I discovered that clarified butter made for delicious popcorn (one of my favorite snacks). Because the water has been removed from the butter, it doesn’t cause the popped kernels to dissolve. It was like having movie theatre popcorn at home without all the additives and chemicals that upset my insides! Clarified butter earned its place in our refrigerator from then on out. Read on to learn how simple it is to make clarified butter at home without any special equipment!
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What’s the hype then if it’s just butter?
There are a myriad of reasons people love clarified butter. First, removing the milk solids changes the smoke point of butter from 302F to 482F which means you can get that lovely buttery flavor while sauteing without setting off your smoke alarm.
It also has a longer shelf-life with the milk solids removed. In our experience with local butter, we can get about 1-2 months. But with clarified butter, we have had it last for 3-4 months (we usually consume it sooner rather than later, so we haven’t tested some people’s claims that it could last 6+ months in the fridge!)
Lastly, the clarifying process removes most of the remaining lactose and casein that trouble some people’s digestive systems. Folk that typically can’t enjoy most dairy products often find that they can eat clarified butter or ghee without issues.
Better Butter
While you can make this with any unsalted butter from the grocery store. The better the butter, the better the clarified butter. While we don’t have a dairy cow yet, we are able to get butter from a local grass-fed dairy. Grass-fed/pastured cows produce milk with more beta-carotene and is higher in omega-3 fatty acids, CLA, and vitamins D & E. All things we personally want in our diet, especially when it can taste as good as this!
How to Make Clarified Butter
You’ll need a few things you likely already have in your kitchen:
Chop up butter into smaller chunks
I usually aim for tablespoon-ish sized lumps to help the butter more evenly and efficiently melt. The precise amount of butter just depends on how much clarified butter you want at the end. A little is lost in the clarifying process, so if you start with a cup of butter, you’ll end up with ⅔ to ¾ of a cup of clarified butter after the water and milk solids are removed.
Place in a pot on the stove and turn it on low
You want the butter to melt, but not boil. The goal is no agitation as we want the butter to separate into its components. This means no stirring either! Since it takes a little while to melt, I often set a time to come back to check on it and gather the supplies for the straining step.
Skimming off the milk solids
As it melts you’ll notice that the butter separates into three layers. Foamy milk solid bits on top, gorgeous golden butterfat in the middle, and water on the bottom (it’ll look like watered down milk). Using a spoon, skim off the milk solids on top. I place them in a separate bowl to cool before disposing of.
Pour into storage container
After the milk solids are skimmed off the top, you can either ladle the golden butter fat into a container or carefully pour the butter through a cheesecloth lined strainer (my preferred method). Be sure to not pour the white milky water at the bottom of the pot into your container!
Discard the milk solids and water after they cool
Or if you’re not a fan of wasting anything, you can use the milk solids to make some browned butter for baked goods or drizzling over your veggies at dinner.
There you have it! Five simple steps to make clarified butter at home to enjoy in your cooking or drizzle all over that popcorn bowl on your next movie night!
