I started making ghee a few years back when my oldest munchies was on the GAPS diet. Even though the GAPS diet is no longer active in our home, there are many wonderful foods and recipes we have kept from that time. Ghee being one of them.
Ghee has long been used in Indian cooking and has a very distinct, pleasant flavor. It is a clarified butter, meaning that the milk solids and water have been removed leaving just the pure butter fat.
So why should someone consider incorporating it into their diet? And what are the benefits of adding ghee to your diet?
To answer these questions I came up with 5 reasons why you should consider using ghee:
- Unlike vegetable oils, ghee doesn’t become unstable when cooking. This is due to the fact that it has very high smoke point. Did you know with the exception of coconut oil, vegetable and nut oils actually become oxidized when heated, or rancid, and should not be consumed?
- Ghee is also very low in casein and lactose which means that it is often tolerated by those with dairy intolerances or sensitivities.
- Ghee made from the butter of grass fed cows is very high in CLA, butyric acid, and vitamins A,D,E, and K.
- It is anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and anti-viral due to being high in all of the above elements.
- Ghee also has a very long shelf life, even when stored at room temperature. It can last about 3 months when stored in an air tight container on the counter.
And lastly you should consider incorporating it into your diet because it tastes great! 🙂
So I am going to share with you the best way I have found to make ghee. When I first started out making it, it was an awful mess every time I made it. It would bubble and splatter everywhere. I even tried it in the oven after a little reading on the internet, thinking that was going to be better… oh no it was so much worse in the oven! Gigantic mess!
Here is what you will need:
- 2 pounds unsalted butter (if you only have salted that will work too)
- Large, deep pot
- Cheese cloth
- Funnel
- Glass Quart Jar
- Heat the butter in the pot over medium heat. The butter will start to bubble and splatter. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes. Keep an eye on it because it can burn very quickly. The bubbling and splattering should have stopped by now, or slowed down, and the bits on the bottom of the pan should be a golden brown color.
- Remove from heat and let cool slightly for about 20 minutes.
- Put your funnel into the glass jar and line the funnel with cheese cloth. Pour the ghee slowly into the funnel straining out the brown bits through the cheese cloth.
- Let cool to room temperature. Once cooled you can put the lid on the jar and store it either in the fridge or on the counter top.
That’s it. Super easy. I love it when healthy choices are easy to execute! Enjoy!
hey nice post. can we use the Malai of heated milk for preparing ghee? Is that better to do?
Hi there Erica
Recently, I made my first batch of ghee using Kerrygold unsalted butter. I did it in two separate batches, using 250g of butter each batch.
I used the same method as you have above. However, today when I cooked mushrooms in the ghee (over medium heat), it was splattering all over the place.
Have I done something wrong as I assumed with all the water & milk solids removed, this would not happen?
Also, when I was making the ghee, I left it on the counter top in a glass dish to solidify and it took forever. Is this normal? I am wondering whether I actually heated the ghee enough? There were a lot of milk solids in the cloth when I strained it.
Thanks for any advice you can offer.
Cheers
Irene
Australia
I have seen ghee in the grocery store is this good to use?
sorry about the rating it is a mistake.