How to Make Anhydrous Milk Fat

Butter is used to make Anhydrous Milk fat

The term anhydrous means without water. Thus, anhydrous milk fat is milk fat without any water. Anhydrous milk fat is used in cooking when recipes call for butter to be cooked at high temperatures. This is because it has a higher smoking point than regular butter. Anhydrous milk fat is also called butter oil, clarified butter or ghee. It has a longer shelf life than butter and can be stored for about one year without the risk of it going rancid.

Things You'll Need

• 1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter
• Medium saucepan
• Bowl
• Cheesecloth
• Strainer or colander
• Sterilized glass jars with air tight lids

Instructions

Making Anhydrous Milk fat at Home

1. Unwrap four sticks of butter and place then in a medium saucepan. Turn on the stove burner to medium-low heat.

2. Melt the butter and bring to a boil. It will begin to separate into a white foamy substance on top and a sediment on bottom. Do not stir the boiling butter because it will cause the separated fat and milk solids to recombine.

3. Continue to boil. Check the bottom of the pan every 5 minutes by gently tilting it to one side.

4. Check the boiling butter for the next 20 minutes until sediment at bottom of the pan turns golden brown and the liquid above it turns amber in color. When the color change occurs remove the saucepan from heat.

5. Let the clarified butter sit uncovered for 30 minutes away from the heat source.

6. Line a strainer with cheesecloth. Place the strainer over a bowl.

7. Pour the clarified butter through the strainer and into the bowl. Discard the cheesecloth that now holds the separated milk solids.

8. Place the anhydrous milk fat in sterilized jars that have airtight lids. When it is finished cooling it will solidify and appear to be a yellowish-white color.

Tips & Warnings

• The better tasting butter you use, the better the anhydrous milk fat will be.

• Use organic butter if possible.

• Never leave cooking fats and oils unattended. They can go up in flames and cause flash fires to break out in your kitchen. Be sure to keep a lid close by. If a fire does start, cover it quickly with the lid to put it out. Do not use water to attempt to put it out, as this will cause the oil to spread, and the fire right along with it.

References

• The Science of Bakery Products. W.P. Edwards. Royal Society of Chemistry, 2007.
• The Cook's Thesaurus: Clarified Butter
• Yoga Magazine: How to Make Ghee
• Dairy Management Inc.: What are anhydrous milkfat and butter oil?

Resources

• University of Guelph: Butter Manufacture