How to Clarify Fats
Ingredients
Directions
Melt the fat with an equal amount of water in a double boiler.
Strain the mixture through a cloth.
When cold, remove the layer of fat from the water.
Reheat the fat to drive off moisture.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Fat
- Forms the clear golden base once separated from the water and milk solids.
- Water
- Carries heat gently during melting and separates the fat from impurities as it cools.
The step that matters
Reheat the fat to drive off moisture. Traces of water left in the fat can cause spattering and shorten its shelf life. Gentle reheating evaporates remaining water so the clarified fat stays clear and stable.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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