Pistachio Pastry
Paper-thin pastry folds around pistachios, kaymak and sugar, then bakes until golden and crisp. The handmade dough rests before stretching, while melted clarified butter enriches the delicate layers.
The Turkish pantry
Clarified Butter
Concentrated dairy butterfat used to enrich pastry layers, with most of the water and milk solids removed.
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Clarified butter is made from dairy butter with most of its water and non-fat milk solids removed. This guide covers plain, unsalted dairy clarified butter or ghee, not vegetable ghee, margarine or ordinary butter.
Types & forms
Firm or spoonable
Its firmness changes with temperature. Color alone does not identify the milk source.
Melted
Melted clarified butter can be drizzled or brushed over pastry as directed by the recipe.
What to look for when buying
- Choose plain dairy clarified butter or ghee and check the ingredients for added salt or flavorings.
- Do not confuse vegetable ghee or a blended spread with dairy clarified butter.
Prepare & cook
- If the recipe calls for melted clarified butter, melt it before measuring the liquid amount.
- Use it for filling and brushing only in the amounts the recipe specifies.
Store it well
- Follow the storage temperature, date and after-opening instructions on the product label.
- Keep the labeled container and its storage instructions with the product.
Substitutions depend on the dish
Ordinary butter is different
Ordinary butter retains more water and milk solids. Do not assume that the same volume will behave identically in a pastry recipe.
Nutrition
Nutrition varies by product; use the values on its label.
Cook with Clarified Butter
Wheat, Lentil and Chickpea Soup
A thick, meatless Diyarbakır soup of hulled wheat, whole green lentils and chickpeas, finished with onions cooked in clarified butter and Turkish red pepper flakes.