Pantry Staples, Sauces, Condiments

CLARIFIED BUTTER AND GHEE

Julia Child famously said, “With enough butter, anything is good.” I wholeheartedly agree with Julia’s sentiment and would perhaps add that with enough clarified butter, or ghee, the good can be elevated to the extraordinary.

Cooking with butter has the ability to radically enhance and transform the flavors of food, and cooking with butter that has been heated to bring out its nutty, caramelized flavors can add a remarkable depth of flavor to a dish.

On Butter

This most ancient of foods has over the past few decades been vilified as a “bad” fat, said to clog arteries and raise cholesterol. Recently, though, butter seems to be off the hook as a health hazard, if consumed in moderation. This is not an altogether surprising revelation; there is a reason that butter-making has endured for thousands of years.

If your budget allows, go for grass-fed butter, which has a far higher nutritional content than that made from the milk from corn-fed cows.