I decided to go ahead and make some ghee tonight. This is clarified butter. To make it, you cook butter over meduim-high heat. It will boil and froth up. Keep cooking until it begins to "quiet down", milk solids form in the bottom of the pan, and you smell a nutty (like hazelnut) aroma coming from the pan.
More important than the smell is to watch for those solids in the bottom of the pan to form. This can be a bit tricky due to the froth on top, so tilt the pan or use a spoon to move the froth about and look for those solids.
It's best to use a stainless steel pan for this since a darker pan (Cast Iron or non-stick) makes it hard to see the solids.
Ghee has a higher smoking point, is great for sautes, dipping sauces, and more.
In Indian cooking, clarified butter is called ghee, in France, there are two types of clarified butter: Beurre noisette - hazelnut butter or brown butter. And then there is Beurre noir - black butter
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beurre_noisette
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beurre_noir
I was actually shooting for brown butter (ghee) on the first attempt, but overshot the mark and ended up with black butter. It’s very easy to spill over from brown to black, so you have to be vigilant and remove the pan from heat once the solids begin forming in the bottom of the pan.
Strain through a paper towel lined mesh strainer. Cover and store in the fridge.
Now, I need to find recipes for my black butter!
More important than the smell is to watch for those solids in the bottom of the pan to form. This can be a bit tricky due to the froth on top, so tilt the pan or use a spoon to move the froth about and look for those solids.
It's best to use a stainless steel pan for this since a darker pan (Cast Iron or non-stick) makes it hard to see the solids.
Ghee has a higher smoking point, is great for sautes, dipping sauces, and more.
In Indian cooking, clarified butter is called ghee, in France, there are two types of clarified butter: Beurre noisette - hazelnut butter or brown butter. And then there is Beurre noir - black butter
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beurre_noisette
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beurre_noir
I was actually shooting for brown butter (ghee) on the first attempt, but overshot the mark and ended up with black butter. It’s very easy to spill over from brown to black, so you have to be vigilant and remove the pan from heat once the solids begin forming in the bottom of the pan.
Strain through a paper towel lined mesh strainer. Cover and store in the fridge.
Now, I need to find recipes for my black butter!