Clarifying

To “clarify” means to clear a liquid of solid particles. The purpose of clarifying is to make a liquid clear, preserve food, or remove a taste. Early recipes for clarifying sugar, butter, molasses, stocks, jellies, beer, and wine demonstrate various techniques. Typically, recipes involve introducing some sort of clarifying agent, frequently egg whites, and careful straining to filter impurities. While modern production techniques and changing tastes have eliminated the need to clarify most foods, a few, such as butter and stock, are still clarified for particular culinary applications.