Clarified butter and ghee
Butter is about 80 percent fat, 16 percent water, and a little milk solids. The solids scorch near 150°C (300°F), so butter smokes early. Clarified butter has them removed and handles about 230°C (450°F), hot enough for searing.
Ghee is cooked longer
Ghee is clarified butter cooked longer, until the milk solids turn golden and smell nutty, then strained out. You get a high-heat fat with a toasted flavor. With the water gone, it keeps for months in a sealed jar.
Test yourself
Questions from the interactive lesson, with the answer and the why.
You melt butter, skim the foam, and pour off the clear yellow fat, leaving a milky layer behind. What did you remove?
The water and the milk solids. Only pure fat is left, and it handles much higher heat.
True or false: Clarified butter can be heated much hotter than regular butter before it smokes.
True. With no milk solids to scorch, clarified butter smokes at a much higher temperature.
What went wrong? You sear a steak in regular butter over high heat. The pan fills with smoke and black flecks.
The butter's milk solids burned. Milk solids scorch near 150°C (300°F). Use clarified butter or oil for searing.
Fill the blank: The part of regular butter that burns first is the milk ___.
The part of regular butter that burns first is the milk solids. Milk solids scorch around 150°C (300°F).
You're searing scallops in a 230°C (450°F) pan. Which fat do you choose?
Clarified butter or ghee. It tolerates the heat and still tastes buttery.