CLARIFIED BUTTER, OR GHEE✪ Clarified Butter or Ghee, as it is called by the Arabs,
is prepared as follows: Put butter in a farina boiler or porcelain
bowl, put it on the stove and bring to a boil; when cheesy, thick,
white grains form, move it to the back of the range; the buttermilk
which rises to the top should be skimmed off; after it has settled,
strain it, and the clear, oily fluid remaining can be bottled for use
It can be kept for years, and for frying oysters, fritters, etc., there it,
nothing better known.
SUBSTITUTES FOR BUTTER — Butterine — In preparing this,
lard is heated to a temperature not exceeding 120°, and the oil is sep-
arated; a similar oil is obtained from beef fat, the 2 are mixed, and
they are then churned with milk, making the butterine of commerce.
Oleomargarine.* — In preparing this, beef fat is washed, ground,
*It was during the Francc-=German war of 1870-71 that a French chemist Mege*
Mourier acting under instructions from Napoleon III, went into his laboratory and
MILK, BUTTEK AND CHEESE 196
and heated to 120° to 200° to separate the oil, which is known as
"butter oil." This is cooled, salted, put into milk, a little annatto
added to give it color, and it is then churned and worked like butter.
In preparing butterine and oleomargarine only the best fats can be
used, for there is no way now known to remove the unpleasant odor
of fat if it is at all foul. These preparations are about as nutritious
as true butter, and if properly used they are a most valuable addition
to the food of the poorer people, who commonly suffer from a want
of fatty food. Strict laws have been passed in some of the states
against their sale except under their true name, and this is very de-
sirable. It is a fraud to sell them for pure butter, but if well made,
and sold for what they really are, they merit an extensive sale. They
are certainly preferable to the poorer grades of butter, often partly
rancid, which are frequently sold in the large cities. The objection
to their use rests rather on sentiment and prejudice than on any phy-
siological basis. They are to be considered rather as substitutes for,
than imitations of butter.
Other substitutes for butter are the vegetable oils; olive oil is best,. if
pure, but it is often adulterated with inferior oils. Peanut oil is ex-
cellent, and cotton=seed oil of late has taken an important place in
cookery; it is inexpensive, and a less quantity is required than of
butter in cooking. A preparation of cotton-seed oil and beef suet
has been widely advertised, and is much used instead of butter and
lard. Sesamum or Benne oil should be better known; it is easily
raised in the southern states. It is a bland and oderless oil, and a
most excellent substitute for olive oil in salads. It keeps for a long
time without becoming rancid, if stored in a dark place. Poppy=^seed
oil is also being used now somewhat. We believe the day is near at
hand when some of the vegetable oils will largely supplant lard and
other animal fats in nearly all cooking operations.
Some people who have a dread of "margarine," take a piece of
fat pork, melt it down, and strain it through a piece of coarse, thin
muslin✪ Melted Fat Substitute for Butter; then set it aside until it is cold. It is then white and firm,
and may be used like butter in any kind of cake. In pound cake it
is delicious,
Page 148 · 2 recipe records on this page
Presented as published in 1902. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
CLARIFIED BUTTER, OR GHEE, as it is called by the Arabs, is prepared as follows: Put butter in a farina-boiler or porcelain bowl, put it on the stove and bring to a boil; when cheesy, thick, white grains form, move it to the back of the range; the buttermilk which rises to the top should be skimmed off; after it has settled, strain it, and the clear, oily fluid remaining can be bottled for use. It can be kept for years, and for frying oysters, fritters, etc., there is nothing better known.
SUBSTITUTES FOR BUTTER — Butterine — In preparing this, lard is heated to a temperature not exceeding 120°, and the oil is separated; a similar oil is obtained from beef fat, the 2 are mixed, and they are then churned with milk, making the butterine of commerce.
Oleomargarine. — In preparing this, beef fat is washed, ground,
*It was during the Francc-=German war of 1870-71 that a French chemist Mege* Mourier acting under instructions from Napoleon III, went into his laboratory and
and heated to 120° to 200° to separate the oil, which is known as "butter oil." This is cooled, salted, put into milk, a little annatto added to give it color, and it is then churned and worked like butter. In preparing butterine and oleomargarine only the best fats can be used, for there is no way now known to remove the unpleasant odor of fat if it is at all foul. These preparations are about as nutritious as true butter, and if properly used they are a most valuable addition to the food of the poorer people, who commonly suffer from a want of fatty food. Strict laws have been passed in some of the states against their sale except under their true name, and this is very desirable. It is a fraud to sell them for pure butter, but if well made, and sold for what they really are, they merit an extensive sale. They are certainly preferable to the poorer grades of butter, often partly rancid, which are frequently sold in the large cities. The objection to their use rests rather on sentiment and prejudice than on any physiological basis. They are to be considered rather as substitutes for, than imitations of butter.
Other substitutes for butter are the vegetable oils; olive oil is best,. if pure, but it is often adulterated with inferior oils. Peanut oil is excellent, and cotton-seed oil of late has taken an important place in cookery; it is inexpensive, and a less quantity is required than of butter in cooking. A preparation of cotton-seed oil and beef suet has been widely advertised, and is much used instead of butter and lard. Sesamum or Benne oil should be better known; it is easily raised in the southern states. It is a bland and oderless oil, and a most excellent substitute for olive oil in salads. It keeps for a long time without becoming rancid, if stored in a dark place. Poppy-seed oil is also being used now somewhat. We believe the day is near at hand when some of the vegetable oils will largely supplant lard and other animal fats in nearly all cooking operations.
Some people who have a dread of "margarine," take a piece of fat pork, melt it down, and strain it through a piece of coarse, thin muslin; then set it aside until it is cold. It is then white and firm, and may be used like butter in any kind of cake. In pound cake it is delicious,
Records on this page
Clarified Butter or GheeMelted Fat Substitute for Butter