Clarified butter

Mike F

Member
I am considering using clarified butter in place of standard butter for cooking in CI. Was just wondering if others have done so and whether anyone has comments or feedback.
 
Should be no problem. You're just removing milk solids and leaving the butter fat. Should work in CI no differently.
 
Depends. Clarified/drawn butter is unsalted butter. I find some things stick to the vessel more easily with drawn butter including bread crumbs, batter, potatoes and especially eggs. The milk solids help form the barrier between the food and the pan. Salt helps too so I find regular salted butter the next best thing to bacon grease.

Hilditch
 
Ditto. If anything, clarified butter could work even better because it's more like regular oil, the milk solids in regular butter can burn relatively easily.

Another option is to mix olive oil with your regular butter (not the clarified stuff) about 50/50, the olive oil will help stabilize it and prevent burning.

---------- Post added at 11:04 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:56 PM ----------

EDIT - I was ditto'ing Doug, Hilditch's post slipped in between...

Interesting observation about salted vs. non-salted butter regarding non-stickiness, I haven't paid attention to that. I do prefer the salted stuff, too...
 
Although unsalted butter is preferred, one can make clarified butter from either unsalted or salted, as long as it is understood that the result with salted will be different, which may or may not be acceptable to the user, and will certainly impact the salt level contained in the remainder of the recipe. I, too, would like to see some reliable information substantiating the claims that "milk solids help form the barrier between the food and the pan", and that "salt helps too" re: preventing food from sticking. I'm not seeing how lactose (milk sugar) and casein (milk protein), or salt, would be helpful in that regard.
 
I would like to see some reliable information substantiating the claims are not true that "milk solids help form the barrier between the food and the pan", and that "salt helps too" re: helping preventing food from sticking.

Hilditch
 
Occam's Razor, simply put, states that the simplest explanation is usually the correct one. Doesn't mean the more complicated explanation isn't true, it merely defines on which explanation lies the burden of proof... :icon_scratchchin:

:D:geek:
 
Yes Spurgeon, the carbonized buildup as well as the seasoning. First some of the impurities burn and then the fats and oils burn up all leaving carbon. If the carbon is still mixed with some polymerized oil/fat lye can remove it. If all the fats and oils are burned up the carbonized buildup is very tight and has strongly held together carbon molecules. Hard work time or the carbon may burn up to ashes about 900° F and above.

You can think of that carbon buildup like a chunk of coal; which is why the bottom of a skillet that gets high direct heat from a flame or an electric burner is normally pretty clean as the carbon has burned off. As the impurities burn up I think of those loose carbon molecules as graphite to help keep my skillet slippery.

Hilditch
 
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