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Clarified butter is butter
Butter

Butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermentation cream or milk. It is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications such as baking, sauce making, and frying....
 that has been rendered to separate the milk solids and water from the butterfat
Butterfat

Butterfat or milkfat is the fatty portion of milk. Milk and cream are often sold according to fat content of milk....
. Typically it is produced by melting butter and allowing the different components to separate by density
Density

The density of a material is defined as its mass per unit volume. The symbol of density is ....
. The water evaporates, some solids float to the surface and are skimmed off, and the remainder of the milk solids sink to the bottom and are left behind when the butter fat (which would then be on top) is poured off.






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Clarified butter is butter
Butter

Butter is a dairy product made by churning fresh or fermentation cream or milk. It is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications such as baking, sauce making, and frying....
 that has been rendered to separate the milk solids and water from the butterfat
Butterfat

Butterfat or milkfat is the fatty portion of milk. Milk and cream are often sold according to fat content of milk....
. Typically it is produced by melting butter and allowing the different components to separate by density
Density

The density of a material is defined as its mass per unit volume. The symbol of density is ....
. The water evaporates, some solids float to the surface and are skimmed off, and the remainder of the milk solids sink to the bottom and are left behind when the butter fat (which would then be on top) is poured off. The components that are not butter fat are usually discarded. To make clarified butter, melt unsalted butter and take the foam that comes up with a spoon.

In northern India
India

India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, the List of countries by population country, and the most populous liberal democracy in the world....
, the milk solids are not discarded and eaten as a delicacy with various unleavened breads. In Hindi, the milk solids are called Mehran.

Properties

Clarified butter has a higher smoke point
Smoke point

The smoke point refers to the temperature at which a cooking fat or oil begins to break down. The substance smokes or burns, and gives food an unpleasant taste....
 than regular butter, and is therefore preferred in some cooking applications, such as sautéing
Sautéing

Saut?ing is a method of cooking food that uses a small amount of fat in a shallow cookware and bakeware over relatively high heat. Unlike searing, saut?s are often finished with a sauce made from the pan's residual fond....
. Clarified butter also has a much longer shelf life than fresh butter.

Regional variations

In the Middle East
Middle Eastern cuisine

Middle Eastern cuisine is the cuisine of the various countries and peoples of the Middle East. The cuisine of the region is diverse while having a degree of homogeneity....
 ('samna') and South Asia
Indian cuisine

The cuisine of India is characterized by its sophisticated and subtle use of many spices and vegetables grown across India and also for the widespread practice of vegetarianism across its society....
 ('ghee
Ghee

Ghee is a class of clarified butter that originated in the Indian subcontinent, and is important in South Asian cuisine and Middle Eastern cuisine ....
'), the butter is cooked long enough to evaporate the water portion and caramelize the milk solids (which are then filtered out), giving the result a nutty flavor. In French cuisine
French cuisine

French cuisine is a style of cooking derived from the nation of France. It evolved from centuries of social and political change. The Middle Ages brought lavish banquets to the upper class with ornate, heavily seasoned food prepared by chefs such as Guillaume Tirel....
 this is called beurre noisette
Beurre noisette

Beurre noisette is frequently used in France pastry production. It can also be used as a warm sauce to accompany a variety of savory foods such as winter vegetables, pasta, fish, omelettes, chicken, etc....
, loosely translated as "nutty butter", known as brown butter in English.

Names and uses in different countries

In England
England

native_name =|conventional_long_name = England|common_name = England|image_flag = Flag of England.svg|image_coat = England COA.svg|symbol_type = Royal Coat of Arms...
, clarified butter is used in the process of potting
Potted shrimps

Potted shrimps are a traditional Lancaster, Lancashire dish, made with brown shrimp flavoured with Nutmeg .The dish "Potted shrimps" consists of brown shrimp in mace-flavoured butter which has set in a small pot....
, whereby foods such as shrimp and hare are preserved in pots of butter.

In Brazil
Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the List of countries and outlying territories by total area country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the List of countries by population country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world....
, it is known as "manteiga de garrafa" (bottle butter) and is featured mostly in cuisine from the Northeast
Geography of Brazil

}}}|-!align="center" bgcolor="lightblue" colspan="2"|Surface Area of Brazil|-! style="background:#f0f0f0;" align="left" valign="top"| Total...
.

In Iran
Iran

Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran and formerly known internationally as Persian Empire until 1935, is a country in Central Eurasia, located on the northeastern shore of the Persian Gulf and the southern shore of the Caspian Sea....
, it is known as "yellow oil" and is used in place of other oils.

In Arab countries, it is known as "samnah". It replaces oil in frying and sautéing
Sautéing

Saut?ing is a method of cooking food that uses a small amount of fat in a shallow cookware and bakeware over relatively high heat. Unlike searing, saut?s are often finished with a sauce made from the pan's residual fond....
 due to a perceived superior flavor.

In Ethiopian
Cuisine of Ethiopia

Ethiopian cuisine characteristically consists of spicy vegetable and meat dishes, usually in the form of wat , a thick stew, served atop injera, a large sourdough flatbread, which is about 50 centimeters in diameter and made out of fermented teff flour....
 and Eritrean cuisine (particularly in the highlands
Ethiopian Highlands

The Ethiopian Highlands are a rugged mass of mountains in Ethiopia, Eritrea , and northern Somalia in the Horn of Africa. The Ethiopian Highlands form the largest continuous area of its altitude in the whole continent, with little of its surface falling below 1500 m , while the summits reach heights of up to 4550 m ....
) clarified butter is infused with ginger, garlic, and several spices, and is known as Niter kibbeh in Amharic
Amharic language

Amharic is a Semitic languages spoken in North Central Ethiopia by the Amhara people. It is the second most spoken Semitic language in the world, after Arabic language, and the official working language of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia....
 and Tesmi in Tigrinya
Tigrinya language

Tigrinya , also spelled Tigrigna, Tigrina, Tigri?a, less commonly Tigrinian, Tigrinyan, is a Semitic languages spoken by the Tigray-Tigrinya people in Tigray [Northern Ethiopia] and in central Eritrea , where it is one of the two official languages of Eritrea, and in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia , where it also...
.