Butter, Butter, and more Butter!

I love butter! While there are probably healthier oils for you to eat, butter is one of the most delicious ones. Clarified Butter (milk solids removed) gives you butter flavor without the "dairy". Clarified butter is also called Ghee and can be used a higher temps than regular butter because there are no milk solids to burn. But more on that later...

First off, just say no to margarine! Its not butter, a good butter supplement or healthy. Just say no peoples!  I really don't care if it is easier to spread on your toast!

Ingredients:

• Vegetable Oil Blend (Liquid Soybean Oil, Non-Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Liquid Canola Oil)
• Water
• Natural Sweet Cream Buttermilk
• Salt
• Natural Soy Lecithin
• Vegetable Mono and Diglycerides
• (Potassium Sorbate, Calcium Disodium EDTA) Used to Protect Quality
• Citric Acid
• Natural and Artificial Flavors
• Vitamin A (Palmitate)
• Beta Carotene (For Color)

Butter!  Who wouldn't want to do this with their fat:

I only buy salted butter. Usually the store brand or whatever is on sale. It is delightful! But at one point I did cut all dairy out to see if I had a sensitivity. Well I made it 15 days and felt great but adding dairy back in didn't seem to bother me enough to keep it eliminated. I know elimination diets are supposed to last more than 15 days so I'll try that again someday...but not today. While cutting out dairy I discovered Ghee/Clarified butter and am really fond of using it. Mainly because I can use it over medium high heat and get the butter taste.  So I introduce you to my little friend 

My favorite brand

You can buy Ghee at specialty stores (It's used for Indian cooking) or you can make your own. If Ghee is on sale it is cheaper to buy it, but so rarely does a dairy item go on sale. C'est la vie. There are hundreds of how to videos and blog posts on how to make your own Clarified Butter. But the way I make mine is

1 lb of butter, unwrapped in a pot. Melt until the milk solids (the white stuff) start to float. I skim and skim with either a spoon or a small strainer. I keep the milk solids in a bowl because they are salty and awesome. My rule is I get to eat them while clarifying the butter and then I have to throw them out. Such a good treat for a salt junkie like me. BUT I digress. Eventually you will have gotten all the milk solids out that you can. I then pour the butter through a coffee filter into a mason jar to catch anything the strainer couldn't get. Store it in the fridge and it will last you a long time. I bet you will run out of it before it even gets close to turning bad. Yep, I'm that confident. 

Finished Product

• Just a reminder that if you are lactose intolerant  you may not be able to handle ghee. It seems to depend on the person and how low their sensitivity level is. 
• Ghee solidifies in the fridge. It helps to set it out before you cook so it is easier to get out of the jar. 
• Replace butter in any recipe other than baking sweets. Just use it like you would coconut oil or EVOO.