clarified butter

Clarified butter at room temperature Clarified butter is butter from which all milk solids have been removed. The result is a clear, yellow butter that can be heated to higher temperatures before burning.

Typically, clarified butter is produced by melting butter and allowing the components to separate by density. The water evaporates, some solids (i.e. whey proteins) float to the surface and are skimmed off, and the remainder of the milk solids (casein) sink to the bottom and are left behind when the butterfat on top is poured off. It can also be separated with a separatory funnel or a gravy fat separator. This butterfat is the clarified butter.