Wikipedia Article About Clarified butter on Wikipedia Clarified butter is butter that has been rendered to separate the milk solids and water from the butter fat. Typically it is produced by melting butter and allowing the different components to separate by density. Some solids float to the surface and are skimmed off; the water and the remainder of the milk solids sink to the bottom and are left behind when the butter fat is poured off. The non-butter fat components are discarded.