How to Melt Unrefined Kokum Butter

Double boilers heat delicate foods and sauces gently.

Kokum butter is an emulsion, similar to milk-based butter, and shares several properties with cocoa butter, another emulsion. Melting emulsions properly requires knowing their melting points -- in kokum butter, between 97 degrees Fahrenheit and 99 degrees Fahrenheit -- and heating gently. Kokum butter begins to separate when it heats past 100 degrees Fahrenheit, and requires cooling and re-emulsifying to stabilize. Kokum butter is extracted from the seed of the kokum fruit, similar to cocoa butter extracted from the cacao seed. Although the fruit is commonly used in South Asian and Indian cuisine, its butter usually comprises lotions, cosmetics and ointments. Does this Spark an idea?

Print this article

1/2 lb. unrefined kokum butter
Stainless-steel mixing bowl
Saucepan or double boiler
Rubber spatula
Instant-read thermometer

Instructions

- 1
  
  Break apart 1/2 lb. of kokum butter into the insert of a double boiler or a stainless-steel mixing bowl. The shapes of the kokum butter pieces aren't as important as their uniformity for even melting.
- 2
  
  Fill a saucepan or double boiler half full of water and place it over medium heat. Place the mixing bowl of kokum butter on top of the saucepan or place the insert in the double boiler.
- 3
  
  Melt the kokum butter while stirring it with a rubber spatula. Insert an instant-read thermometer in the butter to ensure it doesn't heat past 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
- 4
  
  Stir the kokum butter and hold it warm between 97 degrees Fahrenheit and 99 degrees Fahrenheit.