# Help clarify butter!



## gus20 (Jul 26, 2002)

Hello, i dont find much information that i need , please help me:

When i clarifi butter,, in the top there are a white part (is it that the proteins, the casein?) ,, after in the middle is the fat,,,,,,,and in the bottom what is there? is that water? how is called that water????,, so the butter when is heat is divided in 3 parts???????? thanks so much

a big hug, thanks

Gus


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## liv4fud (Jul 14, 2005)

previous discussion:
efficient clarification of butter 
hope this helps


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## markv (May 16, 2003)

Butter is the semisolid material that results from churning cream. In the US it must be at least 80% milk fat. The remaining 20% is water and milk solids, (proteins and salts). It may be salted or unsalted. The salt, which acts as a preservative, allows for salted butter to last up to a month in your fridge as opposed to two weeks for unsalted butter. 

Clarified butter is unsalted butter that has been heated to the point that its water evaporates and the milk solids separate out. The resulting golden fluid is the clarified butter, i.e., pure butter fat. One pound of butter will yield about 12 ounces of clarified butter. To clarify your butter, heat it on low. Some of the proteins will coagulate and produce a foam on the surface which must be skimmed off. Continue to cook until the butter becomes clear and the remaining milk solids congregate on the bottom. Then either ladle or pour out the butter being careful not to include the milk solids. 

Mark


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## bijoink (Sep 14, 2005)

To what i have learned from the Chefs is always use unsalted butter always cause salt lowers the heating point thus almost making it useless for cooking at higher temperatures.The top layer is the whey proteins... the foamy part skim that off with a laddle....the middle is the butterfat that is the good stuff... make sure to not ever stir it i have seen high school students who know the concept but want to be adventorous and want to stir it for some **** reason....remove the butter from the heat and do not shake the pot at all be gentle with it you do not want it to mix at all.... next strain it through fine mesh china cap or whatever like a cheese cloth and discard the milk solids... there are three layers the whey proteins is the top=bad. then the butterfat=good keep this. and then the milk solids at the bottom=bad.


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