The short answer: clarified butter is butter with the water and milk solids taken out. To make it, melt unsalted butter over low heat, skim the white foam off the top, then pour the clear golden fat off the milky layer at the bottom. You keep about three quarters of the weight. It fries hotter than butter without burning.
Fry an egg in plain butter on medium-high heat and the butter goes brown, then black, in a minute. Fry it in clarified butter and the fat stays golden. That is the whole reason to make it. Clarified butter keeps the butter taste and loses the part that burns: the milk solids. It takes about 20 minutes and one pan.
| At a glance | |
|---|---|
| Time | 15 to 20 minutes for 450 g (1 lb) |
| Yield | About 340 g (12 oz) from 450 g (1 lb) butter |
| Smoke point | About 175 to 190 °C (350 to 375 °F), against 120 to 150 °C (250 to 300 °F) for butter |
| Keeps | Up to 3 months in the fridge |
What you need
- 450 g (1 lb) unsalted butter
- A small, heavy, light-coloured saucepan
- A spoon for skimming
- A fine sieve lined with cheesecloth or a coffee filter
- A clean, completely dry jar
Use unsalted butter. Salt stays behind in the watery layer, but it makes the foam thicker and harder to skim.
How to make clarified butter on the stove
- Cut and melt. Cut the butter into even pieces. Melt it in the pan over low heat. Do not stir.
- Let it separate. Keep it on low heat for 10 to 15 minutes. Three layers form: white foam on top, clear yellow fat in the middle, milky liquid on the bottom.
- Skim. Lift the foam off the top with a spoon. Go slowly. You will not get every speck, and that is fine.
- Stop before it browns. If the bottom layer starts to turn golden, take the pan off the heat. You are now making ghee.
- Pour off the fat. Tip the pan gently and pour the clear fat through the lined sieve into the jar. Stop when the milky layer reaches the lip of the pan.
- Cool and close. Let it cool, then close the jar. It sets pale yellow and firm in the fridge.
The chill method: no skimming, cleaner fat
This way takes longer but needs less skill. It is the method America's Test Kitchen uses.
- Melt the butter on low heat, or in the microwave at half power.
- Let it stand for 10 minutes, then skim off the foam.
- Pour it into a bowl, cover it and chill it for at least 4 hours, until the fat is solid.
- Lift out the disc of fat. The water and milk solids stay in the bowl. Blot the bottom of the disc dry with kitchen paper.
The fat comes out cleaner because the water cannot hide under it. Melt the disc again to use it, or keep it as it is.
What happens when you clarify butter
Butter is about 80 percent fat, about 16 percent water and a few percent milk solids: proteins and milk sugar. Heat it gently and the three split apart. The light proteins float up as foam. The water and the rest of the solids sink. Pour off the middle and you have almost pure butterfat. The solids are what scorch in a hot pan. With them gone, the fat can go about 50 °C (90 °F) hotter before it smokes.
When to use clarified butter
- Searing: steak, scallops and fish, when you want butter flavour at medium-high heat.
- Frying eggs and potatoes: crisp edges and no black specks on rösti or fried potatoes.
- Hollandaise and béarnaise: the classic recipes whisk warm clarified butter into egg yolks.
- Filo pastry: brush it between the sheets. With no water in it, the layers bake crisp.
- Drawn butter: in the US, warm clarified butter served for dipping lobster and crab.
- Popcorn: it coats the kernels without making them soggy.
For baking, use ordinary butter. Most cakes and pastry count on its water to make steam.
Clarified butter, ghee and brown butter
| Clarified butter | Ghee | Brown butter | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cooked until | The fat is clear | The solids turn light gold | The solids turn hazelnut brown |
| Milk solids | Removed | Toasted, then removed | Kept |
| Taste | Clean, buttery | Mild, nutty | Deep, nutty, caramel |
| Best for | Searing, sauces | Frying, curries | Baking, finishing |
For the toasty version, see how to make ghee. To keep the solids and their flavour, make brown butter instead.
How long clarified butter keeps
- Fridge: in a clean, closed jar for up to 3 months. Some cooks give it 6; we use the shorter time.
- Freezer: in an ice-cube tray, then a bag, for portions you can drop straight into a pan.
- A dry spoon, every time: water or crumbs in the jar are what spoil it.
- Smell test: if it smells sour, cheesy or like old paint, throw it away.
Mixed with fresh garlic or herbs, it is a flavoured butter and keeps only 5 days in the fridge. See our guide to compound butter for those.
Common mistakes
- Heat too high: the solids brown before the layers split. Keep it low.
- Stirring: it mixes the layers back together. Leave the pan alone.
- Pouring to the last drop: the milky layer follows the fat out. Stop early and accept a little loss.
- A wet jar: drops of water shorten its life. Dry the jar fully.
Questions
Is clarified butter the same as ghee?
Almost. Both are butter with the water and milk solids removed. Ghee cooks longer, until the solids toast light gold, so it tastes nutty. Clarified butter is taken off the heat before that and tastes clean and mild.
How much clarified butter do you get from 1 lb of butter?
About 340 g (12 oz) from 450 g (1 lb), roughly three quarters. The rest is water and milk solids.
Does clarified butter need to be refrigerated?
Keep homemade clarified butter in the fridge, in a clean, closed jar. It keeps up to 3 months there. The freezer is fine for longer.
What is the smoke point of clarified butter?
About 175 to 190 °C (350 to 375 °F), according to America's Test Kitchen. Whole butter starts to smoke at about 120 to 150 °C (250 to 300 °F), because its milk solids burn first.
Can I clarify salted butter?
Yes. Most of the salt stays in the milky layer you pour away. The foam is thicker, so skim with more care.
