Unsalted butter 200g

Butter is really the star ingredient of any cookbook! Sauces, cakes… It can be found in numerous recipes.

To make sure everyone’s taste is catered for, it comes in three broad categories:

• unsalted butter which contains very little salt, such as PDO Charentes-Poitou Grand Fermage
• semi-salted butter, which contains between 0.5% and 2% salt, such as semi-salted PDO Charentes-Poitou Grand Fermage
• salted butter, which contains 3% salt, such as Noirmoutier Grand Fermage with sea salt crystals.

You will of course have noticed that the difference between unsalted butter and salted butter is the salt content.

To start with; what is clarified butter?

It’s butter that has first been melted, then had its proteins extracted: casein and whey protein. Its main advantage is that it can stand higher temperatures and therefore won’t darken when you melt it in the pan. Practical!

So; here is how to make this famous butter:

•  Cut the butter into pieces and melt it in a thick-bottomed pan on a low heat without stirring.
• When the butter has completely melted, turn off the heat, and using a skimmer or a spoon, lift off the white mousse which has risen to the surface.
• Now tip the yellow liquid which is left into a jar, let it cool and then put it in the fridge.

You will now be able to use this clarified butter in your recipes. It will give all your meals a delicious buttery taste.