If you enjoy butter but wish this creamy golden fat had a higher smoke point, you might consider making your own clarified butter. While butter contains a mixture of fat, water, and milk solids, clarified butter is butter that has been cooked down to remove the water and milk, leaving you with clean, multi-purpose butterfat. Yet, as you attempt to make your own batch of liquid gold, don’t overlook the benefits of the precious foam that rises to the top of your pot during preparation. Believe it or not, this accumulating foam contains separated milk solids that are surprisingly loaded with flavor.
Since clarified butter doesn’t require browning, ghee and clarified butter are not the same thing. However, both products have an intensely rich buttery flavor. As you melt butter over your stove and it begins to froth, lightly skim the top of your pot with a spoon to collect every last ounce of white and foamy particles before they sink to the bottom. As the water in butter continues to evaporate, bubbling will slow, resulting in a pot full of liquid butterfat.
Skimmed milk solids are a great product to enhance dishes that may benefit from an extra dose of toasted buttery flavor without the added fat. Add a spoonful to hot noodles or your next pot of soup. Better yet, include a small amount in your next pan of sautéed veggies or breakfast omelet for a distinct flavor upgrade.
Creative ways to use leftover milk solids
Since leftover milk solids can not replace the fat in recipes, when heat is involved, always make sure to use them alongside butter or cooking oil. Use a cold spoonful in your next meat marinade, or add solids to a hot pan with butter or oil when searing meat. Leftover solids can also be mixed into oven-based dishes such as lemon chicken or creamy carrot casserole before baking.
While adding a dose of buttery flavor to your next lunch or dinner may be the most predictable, you can also use milk solids to enhance a variety of sweet treats. Use a small spoonful to upgrade your next pan of fried apples. Alternatively, melt the solids and drizzle the butter-infused liquid onto bowls of chocolate or vanilla ice cream. The contrast of salted butter and sweet frozen cream is sure to take your taste buds to another dimension. You can even use leftover foam to add moisture and flavor to certain baked goods like fresh bread, muffins, or cookies.
Beyond adding this tasty byproduct to a variety of recipes, you can also slather milk solids onto toast with a bit of cinnamon sugar or cocoa powder and chopped berries. Better yet, once you remove the foam from your pot of butter, add in some fresh chopped herbs and salt to enjoy this makeshift condiment with freshly toasted crostini or crackers.
