Clarified butter, also known as drawn butter or ghee, is a form of “clean” butter where certain solids are removed and only the pure butterfat remains. Unsalted butter is slowly melted, allowing the milk solids to separate from the transparent golden liquid and for any water to evaporate. Cooking with clarified butter has several benefits, particularly when frying. Milk solids are what cause butter to smoke and burn in cooking, so by omitting them, you are able to cook with butter at a much higher temperature and for a longer period of time. Milk solids also cause the butter to spoil, or become rancid. Clarifying the butter ensures that when you use it to cook certain things they will have a longer shelf life.
The taste of clarified butter, though different and less rich than regular butter, is great for frying certain foods, like breaded eggplant, pancakes or blintzes. It has a nice, subtle flavor that you won’t get when frying in animal fats or other types of oil. If you’re learning to cook kosher, clarified butter is useful in dairy and vegetarian dishes, but should not be used to cook meat.
Clarified butter does not become grainy when refrigerated and re-melted. It is a popular choice with certain baked goods. It’s also helpful when creating a smooth hollandaise sauce. Because most of the milk solids are removed, clarified butter is also a good choice for people with lactose intolerance. Those who have milk allergies, however, should steer clear because of the small amount of milk solids that may remain.
Making your own clarified butter is very simple. I will walk you through the process here. I’ve written the tutorial for 1 cup of butter, which produces between 2/3 cup and 3/4 cup clarified butter. You can easily double or triple the recipe to make more at a time. I like to make 2 or 3 cups and store in the refrigerator, so I always have some on hand. It will last you several months.
Next week, I’ll share a recipe where you’ll need to know this process… so study up! 
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How to Make Clarified Butter
You will need
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
- Small saucepan
- Mesh strainer
- Several layers of cheesecloth
- Heat-safe bowl
- Sealed container for storing the clarified butter (I use a small mason jar)
- Place butter into a small, heavy bottomed pan. Turn heat to medium low. Let the butter melt slowly. This will take a few minutes-- don't rush it by raising the heat. Low and slow is the way to go! Don't stir the butter as it melts, just let it be.
Once the butter is completely melted, you'll notice a foamy white layer has formed on the top. Use a spoon to skim that foam from the surface of the butter, being careful to leave behind the golden butterfat. 
Skim as much of the foam as possible from the surface. Don't worry if a few specks are left behind, you will strain those away later. If you'd like, you can use the solids you have skimmed in another dish to add flavor-- it can be tossed with warm pasta, on rice, or on fresh hot popcorn.
Remove the butter from heat and allow to rest for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, place a wire mesh strainer over a heat-safe bowl. Line the strainer with several layers of cheesecloth. If you don't have cheesecloth on hand, use a coffee filter-- it will take longer to strain through, but it's just as effective.
Tilt the pan gently and slowly pour the melted butter through the cheesecloth. You only want to pour the golden fat through the cheesecloth, skimming away the leftover bits of foam.
When you get to the bottom of the pan, you'll notice more milk solids. Do not pour those through the cheesecloth-- stop when you run out of butterfat and only the solids remain.
Pour clarified butter into a container and seal. Store in the refrigerator. Butter will solidify at cooler temperatures, but can easily be returned to liquid by warming.
Thank you so much for showing how to clarify butter with pictures. It makes it so much clearer (no pun intended). I can finally do my own clarified butter.
Glad it was helpful to you Alisa! Sure beats paying a premium price for ghee, and it only takes a few minutes. I clarify 2-3 cups at a time, bottle it up and refrigerate for future use so I always have some on hand.
Great step-by-step instructions! Is it possible to freeze it as well?
Hi Koji, yes. Clarified butter has quite a long shelf life– longer than regular butter, so you can keep it in the refrigerator for 3 months or longer. You can also freeze it for up to 6 months. Enjoy!
Thanks for showing how to clarify butter. The response I get to my question, “How do you clarify butter?”; is usually, “You cook it.”
Is clarified butter supposed to be healthier for you? I live in India and am told that often. Just wondering if you know?
Hi Amy, great question! Ghee is basically fat, like butter, so while I wouldn’t consider it a “health food” persay, it does have certain benefits that can make it a better choice than butter. Ghee has most of the lactose removed, which is helpful for those who are lactose intolerant. It has a higher smoke point than butter, which means you can cook with it without creating dangerous free radicals. It also aids in digestion; as a purer form of fat than butter, it can stimulate the secretion of stomach acids, whereas butter and other dairy products tend to slow the digestive process. It also contains more short chain fatty acids than butter, and it’s rich in antioxidants. Hope that helps!
First as for being better yes, it has a few key cancer fighting acids but is also casein free since all the protein bits or solid bits have been removed. I am vegan save Ghee. Which I do myself and can. First I do mine in my crock pot and loooove the brown ghee!!! OMG!! It takes time, hence the crock pot, but there it is nothing short of heaven. Don’t waste the solids if you are not watching the casein’s mix with a bit of powdered sugar for a great addition to cookies, topping ice cream etc. Yes, you can can ghee easily. While still hot put into sterile jars leaving only a fraction of a head, quarter inch tops, and seal with sterile two piece rings.
Also technically ghee is a class of clarified butter and is richer and gold to brown in color not yellow. In Indian recipes the substitution is not ideal but works if you can’t get real ghee. In fact a lot of what is sold as ghee is not really ghee any longer but a cheaper clarified butter. Just for ‘clarification’ purposes. lol
According to my Indian friend, not all ghee is browned, but you can allow it to cook longer and slower for a browned, toasted flavor. It’s a matter of preference. I plan to cover browned butter and browned ghee in a future post.
I came by my understanding decades ago at a temple and you are absolutely right it is all a matter of opinion and preference. The country and area is beautifully diverse and rich. I look forward to your post on the browned ghee! As always love your updates and site!
Thanks Ber! Would love for you to share your crockpot method here.
Love all your recipes and share them with my daughter in law
who lives in Israel.
Thank you.
I have been wondering for a while if ghee would be good to use in pie crusts. I thought it might have the texture you get from cristco or lard since it a pure fat that is solid at room temp, with the flavor of butter and no trans fats or lard. Do you know?
Thank you ever so much for the visuals. The ghee is perfect for those crazy “Asian Mish-mashes” whipped up late at night. Ghee with spritzes of sesame/hot pepper oils, scallops, slivers of bell peppers, cashews, baby bellos, left-over cooked rice, green onions, and pinches of goram masala are helping convince the grandkids there’s more to life than fast food “Breakfast Chem-burgers.” I am looking forward to using it as the oil in the bread recipes. In Gassho & L’ Chaim!
I’m originally from India and ghee is a must for our recipes! It really makes such a difference in flavor, I’ve never tried to make it on my own, but maybe I’ll try now!