How to make Ghee

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©	Last Update:
28 Dec 2002

From: Woodchuck Date: Fri, 12 Oct 2001 13:26:55 -0400 (EDT) Then we could get on to other issues, such as how to make ghee at home, which I have done with success, but would like *authoritative* instructions. What I do: Take 1 lb unsalted butter Place same in deep sauce pan. (In fact I have been known to use a very deep pan, actually a huge stainless steel stove-top percolator, with its coffee-making innards removed. This coffee pot is also useful in cooking dal). Heat same, slowly, butter will melt. Continue heating, increase heat. Butter will froth -- this is moisture being driven out (Isn't it convenient how much water is added to make our food so rich and moist? Like hamburger, most forms of meat.) Stir more or less continuously, breaking up froth. Eventually, it will stop frothing, and you can see little solid stuffs settling out. ("Milk fat solids", one of the mystery ingredients in processed grub. Probably proteinaceous material? Casein, etc?) Observe these, do not let them burn. Continue heating until solids are golden brown. Allow to cool enough to handle safely. Strain off the clear butter (now ghee), putting it in a glass jar. The difference between this and clarified butter (French cookery) is the step where you brown the solids. This adds a nutty flavor (characteristic) to the ghee. (Compare a French vs a Cajun roux). The whole purpose is to get out the moisture and the solids, having done so, ghee keeps better than butter (does not go rancid as fast) and can be used for high temperature cooking without burning.

Date: Fri, 12 Oct 2001 14:11:59 -0400 From: Sandy Harris In my area (eastern Canada) buying canned ghee at the local Indian stores costs about the same as buying butter, so I just do that. Mrs. Balbir Singh's "Indian Cookery"[1] gives two methods: "Commonly used method": just like Dave's, with the caution that you must use only low heat to avoid discoloration and burnt flavour. "The Writer's method: "Heat the butter on medium, stirring every now and then, until it is "fully melted. The froth ... should be stirred till it is mixed up. "Remove from the fire and leave the pan in a refrigerator. In 3 to "4 hours a thick layer of clarified butter sets on the top and the "undesirable protein residues sink to the bottom. ... "The solidified butter is transferred to another pan with the help "of a knife and a spoon, without disturbing the residue ... "Heat the butter again till it boils for one to two minutes. ... "Strain it through a muslin cloth and store in a jar with a "tight-fitting lid. I have not tried this and am not sure what she means by butter boiling, but everything in her book I have tried worked well. [1] I recommended this book highly, especially the chutney recipes, but I don't know if it's available in N America, or still in print. We bought one in Delhi, 1975. My ex got that and I bought a replacement copy in the UK, early 80s. Publisher is Mills & Boon, London ISBN 0 263 70019 4