Go to ChefTalk.com  
Cooking ArticlesCookbook ReviewsCooking ForumsRecipesCooking Glossary  

Go Back   ChefTalk Cooking Forums > Food and Cooking Forums > Food & Cooking Questions and Discussion

Food & Cooking Questions and Discussion Got a cooking question or something you want to discuss about food and cooking? This is the forum for you. Talk about anything related to food & cooking.


Reply
 
Thread Tools
  #1  
Old 09-07-2000, 06:44 PM
Live_to_cook's Avatar
ChefTalk Moderator
 
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: Buffalo, NY
Posts: 505
Post drawn butter vs. clarified butter?

Dumb question time.

I thought drawn and clarified were the same thing, i.e. you melt butter and draw off the clear fat while leaving the cloudy milk solids and stuff behind.

There's a difference?
Reply With Quote


  #2  
Old 09-07-2000, 06:55 PM
CHEFJEFF
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Post

THEY ARE BOTH THE SAME!
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 09-08-2000, 01:08 PM
Registered User
 
Join Date: Jul 2000
Location: Dallas, TX., U.S.A.
Posts: 46
Post

Drawn butter is butter that has been melted, solids left in.

Clarified butter is melted then the solids removed.

Clarified is used when you need a high smoking point. Drawn is used for things like lobster candles and at times emulsification sauces.

Had this discussion more than once over the years, with more than one chef ... seems to come out about 50/50 if it is the same thing or not.
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 09-08-2000, 03:39 PM
Greg's Avatar
ChefTalk Moderator
Culinary Experience: Professional Chef
 
Join Date: Dec 1999
Location: St. Paul, MN
Posts: 1,305
Post

I have to side with Jeff on this one. Also, using melted butter for an emulsified sauce will thin it out; use clarified but keep the solids on the side to use only if your sauce tightens up too much. Then again, I've also had this argument with other chefs, also.
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 09-08-2000, 05:51 PM
Live_to_cook's Avatar
ChefTalk Moderator
 
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: Buffalo, NY
Posts: 505
Post

So... drawn butter is the same as clarified butter or not? Looks like there really isn't a consensus. Help me out here, folks.
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 09-10-2000, 09:31 PM
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: Pasadena, Texas, United States
Posts: 388
Yawn

Yeah everybody has a different opinion. From my understanding, they are the same thing, but are just called drawn or clarified in different situations or places. A cook knows it by "cooking with clarified butter" and a customer eating a lobster knows they will want some "drawn butter".
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 09-23-2000, 02:46 AM
Registered User
 
Join Date: Sep 2000
Location: Miami, Fla. U.S.A.
Posts: 191
Post

Live to cook, to help in the consensus. If I am going to saute something, I am going to use the clarified butter out of the big pot sitting on the stove. If a guest ask for some drawn butter, that too is comming out of the big pot on the stove.
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 09-24-2000, 06:17 AM
shroomgirl's Avatar
Registered User
Culinary Experience: Professional Caterer
 
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: St. Louis Mo
Posts: 5,590
Post

LOL....big pot on stove!!!!!
Clarified for using when you don't want milk solids blackened in your dish that you further cook
Drawn for anything that is not further cooked
used for dunking
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 09-27-2000, 11:20 PM
Registered User
 
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: Pasadena, Texas, United States
Posts: 388
Tongue

Yup! We also keep are clarified butter and drawn butter in the same big pot on the stove!
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 09-28-2000, 12:21 AM
Registered User
Culinary Experience: Professional Chef
 
Join Date: Mar 2000
Location: Elk Grove ,CA, USA
Posts: 337
Confused

I have had both opinions insisted upon. One chef I worked with said that drawn butter actually was whisked at melting point of whole butter with a little water to kind of emulsify it, he insisted on this definition. By far though I have heard they are the same thing, and The Food Lovers Companion concures. I hope this clarifies the matter.(yuk,yuk)

Reply With Quote
  #11  
Old 10-01-2000, 08:54 PM
UniChef's Avatar
Registered User
 
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: Orlando
Posts: 219
Post

Wambly is right-

Drawn butter is butter that has been melted, solids left in.

Clarified butter is melted then the solids removed.


Reply With Quote
  #12  
Old 10-18-2000, 07:34 PM
mofo1
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Post

or not.
Reply With Quote
  #13  
Old 11-29-2006, 02:38 PM
Icedhazelnut's Avatar
Registered User
Culinary Experience: At home cook
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Eastern Mass
Posts: 13
Default

My grandmother, who was from Syria, taught me how to make the Syrian 'Baklava' (called Bitlawa in Arabic) The first thing she taught me was the importance of using 'clarified' butter. She had me melt the butter in a sauce pan and then pour out the 'clear' or 'clarified' portion of the butter. We set aside the 'residues' that were left behind. Hence, clarified.
__________________
LR
Reply With Quote
  #14  
Old 11-29-2006, 02:41 PM
cakerookie's Avatar
Registered User
Culinary Experience: Line Cook
 
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: The Carolinas
Posts: 1,205
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Live_to_cook View Post
Dumb question time.

I thought drawn and clarified were the same thing, i.e. you melt butter and draw off the clear fat while leaving the cloudy milk solids and stuff behind.

There's a difference?
Live to cook there are no stupid questions here my friend you do not know unless you ask and your question made perfect sense. Don't be afraid to ask thats what we are all her for to help each other out. Good Luck.

Rgds Rook
Reply With Quote
  #15  
Old 11-29-2006, 03:30 PM
Registered User
Culinary Experience: Home Chef
 
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Burr Ridge, IL
Posts: 716
Red face

Well, of course I went to our guru, Harold McGee to try to settle this.

He says, in his section entitled Clarified Butter "...butter whose water and milk solids have been removed..." (page 36)

Unfortunately, I find no entry in his index for "drawn butter." So I guess we're never gonna know for sure.

My own experience inclines me to think "drawn butter" is just melted, for dipping your lobster/crab meat into. Actually, a little garlic and lemon juice doesn't hurt here, either.

Mike
__________________
travelling gourmand
Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks


Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are Off

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Clarified butter D.luffy Food & Cooking Questions and Discussion 5 03-28-2008 12:22 PM
Clarified Butter? maxon8 Food & Cooking Questions and Discussion 9 06-28-2007 07:40 PM
oil vs butter vs clarified butter eugene Food & Cooking Questions and Discussion 16 12-22-2006 08:33 AM
CLARIFIED BUTTER(Ghee) larry ziegler Food & Cooking Questions and Discussion 3 03-02-2005 01:34 AM
clarified butter cookinscool Food & Cooking Questions and Discussion 24 10-19-2002 08:56 AM


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 08:22 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.7.3
Copyright ©2000 - 2008, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Search Engine Friendly URLs by vBSEO 3.2.0
© 1998 - 2008 ChefTalk.com • All rights reserved

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120