Clarified Dripping
Ingredients
Directions
Clarify the dripping
Melt the dripping without overheating it.
Pour the melted dripping into a basin and add an equal amount of boiling water.
After a few hours, the dripping will solidify at the top.
Make holes on each side of the basin and pour off the water.
Scrape off any small brown particles from the underside of the dripping.
Use it
Use the clarified dripping for cakes, pastry, or frying.
If frying, start over a low heat to prevent splattering.
Use the poured-off water for stock.
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
- Dripping (fat)
- Adds richness and tenderness to cakes and pastry, and carries flavour when frying.
- Boiling water
- Helps separate the fat from water-soluble residues as the mixture cools and sets.
The step that matters
Melt the dripping without overheating it. Overheated fat darkens, picks up burnt flavour, and leaves more brown particles that cling to the solidified fat. Gentle melting keeps the clarified fat clean and mild.
“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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