My daughter loves to cook (makes a mom so proud :) ). She was making dinner and put a stick of butter in a sauce pan and then put the pan on the flame while pulling out the rest of her ingredients. While her back was turned, the butter slowly melted. When she returned to her pan, there were three distinct layers of butter in the pan. “Ewe, Mom what happened to the butter?” she groaned. Apparently she’d never noticed this before. This was a teaching moment (we parents love teaching moments).
What she was seeing were the elements of creamy butter all separated out.
First = The top foamy layer of water and milk. This is undesirable when clarifying butter and should be skimmed off the top with a spoon and thrown away.
Second = The deep yellow layer of the prized butterfat. This is the stuff you want to keep (pour this out into a small dish or bowl) for sautéing and cooking.
Lastly = The milk solids. This stuff will be on the bottom and burns easily – even at low pan temps. Throw this away, too.
Left with just the lovely yellow butterfat to proceed with, she completed her mirepoix like a pro. Dinner is now cooking in the slow cooker and we’ve completed another lesson in the culinary school of hard knocks.
Try clarifying your butter before starting your next sauté. See if you don’t agree that it leaves a cleaner, buttery taste on your vegetables while browning more evenly and with less smoke.
Eat Well,
Dawn
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