Clarified Butter Yield (from Whole Butter)

100% (starting weight)

Whole unsalted butter — Higher-quality butter (82–84% fat European-style) produces slightly better yield than standard 80% fat butter

75–80%

Clarified butterfat (yield) — The usable product; golden, clear, shelf-stable

16–17%

Water (evaporated) — Driven off as steam during melting

2–3%

Milk solids (discarded) — Skimmed as foam or strained through cheesecloth; responsible for browning and burning in whole butter

Place butter in a heavy saucepan over the lowest possible heat. Allow it to melt fully without stirring. A white foam will rise to the surface — skim it gently with a spoon or ladle. Continue heating until the sputtering and bubbling (steam escaping) subsides and the butter turns silent and clear. Carefully ladle or pour the clear golden fat through a fine-mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth into a clean container, leaving behind the milky liquid at the base. For ghee, continue cooking after skimming until the milk solids on the bottom turn golden-brown and the butter smells nutty, then strain immediately.

• Use the lowest possible heat — impatience and high heat cause the butter to brown unevenly and make the layers harder to separate.
• Never stir during melting; agitation re-emulsifies the layers.
• European-style butter (82–84% butterfat vs. 80% standard) produces a slightly better yield and a richer final product.
• Store clarified butter in an airtight glass jar; refrigerated it keeps for several months, at room temperature for 4–6 weeks. Ghee, being more anhydrous, keeps longer.
• Clarified butter has a significantly higher smoke point than whole butter (~450°F / 230°C vs. ~350°F / 175°C) because the milk solids — which burn first — are absent.
• To check clarity, hold the pan up to light; if you can see through the fat cleanly, it's ready to strain.

• Ghee (Indian)

  Milk solids are browned before straining; yield is slightly lower (~72–76%); flavor is nutty and deeply savory; shelf-stable for months at room temperature in an airtight jar

• Usli Ghee (traditional)

  Made from cultured (soured) cream or butter in South Asian tradition; the slight fermentation adds a more complex, tangy flavor; yield comparable to standard ghee

• Beurre Noisette (browned, not clarified)

  Not a clarified product — solids are browned and left in; used immediately; yield identical to whole butter since nothing is removed

• Drawn Butter (American)

  Loosely synonymous with clarified butter in seafood contexts (lobster, crab); sometimes slightly less thoroughly clarified — a small amount of milk solids may remain

• Smen (Moroccan aged ghee)

  Salted and fermented before aging; lower water activity; intensely pungent; used sparingly as a flavoring in North African tagines

• Compound Butter (Flavoring to Butter)

  Uses whole butter as a base; the milk-solid content affects shelf life of compound butters

• Butter Fat-Water-Solids Breakdown

  The compositional ratio that determines clarified butter yield

• Roux (Fat to Flour)

  Clarified butter is often preferred over whole butter in roux for its higher smoke point and longer shelf life

1. 1.On Food and Cooking — Harold McGee
2. 2.The Professional Chef (9th ed.) — The Culinary Institute of America
3. 3.Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking — Michael Ruhlman
4. 4.An Invitation to Indian Cooking — Madhur Jaffrey (ghee production and uses)

Confidence: high