Clarified butter will keep at least a few months in the fridge, as long as you store it in an airtight, light free, container. Light and Oxygen are the two main factors that will make any fat go rancid, so if you takes those out of the equation, the clarified butter will keep for a really long time.

And yes, it does solidify in the refrigerator. Just spoon out the clarified like you would any other solid fat, and use for searing, sauteeing or making hollandaise.

If you store it in an airtight, light free container, it will last at least a month at room temperature. That’s how I store mine at the restaurant, but I use so much of it that one batch usually only last about two weeks.

Also: you mentioned above that it can be kept at room temp. like cooking oils. If kept in the refrigerator, does it solidify?

Thanks.

A lot of French terms have become so Americanized that they have different pronunciations based on geographical colloquial speech. I came up through west coast kitchens, and everyone said “Baine” marie.

Also, I’ve worked for and with some French chef’s, and honestly they’re the last people to try and correct my pronunciation of words. After all, we did speak English in the kitchen, and if I corrected them every-time they said an American word with a French accent or the emphasis on the wrong syllable, it would make for a very long conversation.

Usually chef’s are happy that you know what a Baine Marie is, no matter how you pronounce it, and care more that you understand how to use it. I find that people who don’t spend a lot of time in professional kitchens are more self conscious about pronouncing culinary terms with a French accent.

To answer your question, clarified butter is fine for milk allergies because the whey and casein are what contain the lactace which is what causes an allergic reaction to milk.

Is using clarified butter suitable for most people with milk allergies, since the whey and casein are removed? I have a mild milk allergy and have to use soy oil butter, which does not clarify… at all.

No, there’s really no difference, because salt is water soluble. When you clarify butter correctly, you are only left with the butter fat and nothing else.

With that said, I always buy and use unsalted butter because it gives me complete control over my flavor structure. When I’m experimenting with new recipes, I like to test one variable at a time. Salted butter introduces two variables; butter and salt. Unsalted butter gives you one variable, butter.

After the butter has been clarified, it does not need to be refrigerated. It can be treated just like any other cooking oil. This means that it should be stored in a cool dark place, away from direct light, especially sun light.

The nutritional info for clarified butter is as follows. For one ounce of clarified butter there is:

Calories: 224
Total Fat: 25 grams
Poly Unsaturated Fat: .97 grams
Monounsaturated Fat: 7 grams
Total Cholesterol: 65 milligrams