Ghee whiz

Lawry's seasoned salt is something I'll have to add to my next shopping list.  Except for salt and freshly ground pepper I don't use spices because I don't cook often enough and the spices can lose their mojo after a few months.  A product like Lawry's makes economic sense, and there is nothing too exotic in it except for turmeric and I have no idea what turmeric tastes like.  A funny thing I read on Wikipedia was that Richard Nixon liked eating cottage cheese sprinkled with Lawry's; I like cottage cheese, too, so maybe I should give it a try.

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Do real cowboys clarify their butter? I think not!

Does sound a bit fanciful, doesn't it?  My experience with clarified butter is limited except for the very rare occasion when I treat myself to some lobster, but the restaurants call it drawn butter.  But being a curious sort, I thought it was worth a little research, and by golly, the old cowboy may be on to something.

Based on multiple sources (and personal experience) butter burns easily and has a low "smoke point," something you don't want with higher temperature cooking.  But when you clarify the butter, you raise the smoke point nearly a hundred degrees, which might make it suitable for frying.  Also, clarified butter doesn't require refrigeration and will keep for months before going bad, a useful trait for cooking in the wide open spaces.  The taste is supposed to be more "buttery," too, but if you want to go the extra mile, process it a little longer and make ghee, which is supposed to have a rich, nutty flavor.  The use of ghee goes back thousands of years so it must work okay, and I wonder why I haven't heard much about it's use except in Indian food.  Huh!  Cowboys and Indians, what a coincidence.

The only downside I see with clarified butter is the expense; as other oils are much cheaper, though may not be as healthy for you.   But then I'm thinking, how about popcorn popped with clarified butter?  Or french fries, even fried chicken, made with clarified butter?  How can they not be tasty?  I shall take these notions with a grain of salt, probably Lawry's.