How to make Ghee and Clarified Butter (same thing!)
• Clarified Butter is normal butter minus the dairy component and water ie just butter fat;
• Ghee is a type of Clarified Butter, best known as used in Indian cooking. Arguably the purest form because the method to make it ensures 100% of the dairy is removed, whereas some basic methods for clarified butter are not as thorough;
• They have a more intense butter flavour and in the case of Ghee, a slightly nutty flavour imparted by the browned milk solids; • Makes things much more crisp than butter – such as the Potato Rosti pictured below; and •• Has a high smoke point of 230°C/450°F, compared to butter which has a smoke point of only 175°C/350°F. This is in fact higher than some vegetable oils, meaning you can use clarified butter/ghee just as you would a normal cooking fat, frying and sauteeing things at a high temperature without setting off the smoke alarm.
Essentially, you just leave butter on a medium low stove for 10 minutes until you see golden bits on the base of the pan which are the milk solids – and this means it’s done
Then simply line a mesh colander with a paper towel and strain. Then marvel at the incredible liquid gold – and the smell! It’s insane – so buttery and nutty!
Ghee and clarified butter can be kept in the pantry because the dairy has been removed and the butter is now 100% fat, so it won’t spoil. It will keep for 3 months in the pantry – or even a year in the fridge!
UNSALTED BUTTER
Put another way, butter is made up of about 82% fat, and the rest is dairy (milk solids) and water. The dairy is what leaves black spots on your food when you sear over high heat – because it burns. The water is what stops things going ultra crispy when you pan fry in butter, and it dilutes the butter flavour.
Clarified butter is the general term for butter that has had water and milk solids removed, as explained above. However there are different methods for achieving this. One of the quickest and most common methods is to melt the butter, skim off the foam (which are the milk solids that initially float to the surface) and pour off the butter fat for use, leaving behind any remaining water.
Ghee however takes a specific approach to clarifying butter. Instead of skimming, you continue to heat the butter until all the water boils off, the milk solids go brown and sink to the bottom, and finally are strained out. As you can see this is the exact method I’ve provided above. So what you get with mine is true ghee! Think of it as a specific kind of clarified butter. I find it’s not only simpler, but has a superior flavour too AND you can be confident that every bit of dairy has been removed so it is safe to keep for months – years, if stored in the fridge!!!