Easy Peasy Homemade Ghee

gourmet
ghee
(Candy Lind) #21

Meaning you increased from low to high on the crock pot? Just trying to “clarify” (get it? :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:). I don’t want to ruin my first batch!

(roxanna) #22

Yes, I turned the heat up!

#23

Will this work if I use salted Kerrygold? I would assume so but want to double check before I ruin six sticks of delicious butter.

(Jo O) #24

You can use salted butter. All the salt stays with the milk solids. So the ghee will not be salty. You might have a slightly lower yield.

#25

I’ve made ghee for about 25 years - and it only takes 15 minutes stovetop on low heat - and makes the kitchen smell so fragrant with sweet buttery aromas!

Yes, you can used salted butter - but it doesn’t smell as sweet when making it, nor does it taste as great imho. I guess traditional ghee was always from unsalted cream. Being that sodium molecules heat more rapidly - salted butter can have a higher tendency to clarify too quickly and the milk solids burning during stovetop prep if not careful.

In traditional south asian cultures, the process of fire-heating the butter and experiencing it change and pop and then go all quiet, is a kitchen cultural tradition that I’ve come to love. It’s really about relationship with all the life contained within the butter, the generous mother/female source of the milk, and food as medicine.

In ayurveda, ghee is considered a carrier oil that takes spices and herbs to the deepest tissues of the body. Ayurvedic classics describe eight kinds of ghee from eight different animal milks; among them ghee made from heirloom breeds such as the indigenous “indian desi” or the “Gir” breed of cow’s milk - nowadays said to be the best due to A2 milk as well as the traditional grazing. Traditional farmers share the cow milk with the calves, quite a different worldview than what became of dairy farming under industrial market conditions. And the indigenous cows have floppy ears that hang down like goat ears… so cute!

desi cow and calf
desi cow and calf.jpg800×600 519 KB

*Preferable to make stovetop ghee in a way that you hear the butter sounds changing. IE, don’t do it with a loud vent fan or stereo music blasting. The sounds can alert you when the flame’s too high and the clarifying process happens too fast and the milk solids are going beyond brown to black, etc.

I’ve enjoyed this article about traditional vs. industrial ghee making. The traditional ‘ghrita’ making used to be an important part of land-based family lives - and was a main chore among the many in extended family households. First making butter, then making butter oil!
https://www.desicow.org/single-post/2016/04/13/Traditional-Ghee-Superior-to-Industrial-Ghee

(Sang ma) #26

Growing up in India my mom always insisted we put ghee on everything we eat. But as teenagers we would avoid it thinking it will make us fat :unamused:. Should have listened to mom!

#27

I made ghee the other night and did find it to be very soothing. I’ll have to make it in smaller batches from now on so I can do it more often lol. I appreciated your post very much!

#28

I’m so glad about that, and happy for you!

#29

Seems easy enough to make. I never bought ghee because of how crazy expensive it is. When I found out it was just butter, I figured I wasn’t missing anything. Maybe I’ll make some.

#30

Yeah, store-bought ghee from reputable sources is pricey - and often the ghee sold from industrial food chain importers is adulterated with veg oils as well as tallow apparently - because they are both cheaper than butter!

Another thing to make things easy is to use a 3-4" fine metal mesh strainer when pouring out the hot ghee from the pan, as solids usually are in the last bit and you don’t want the solids in the ghee as they burn during cooking at high heat. (Traditionally, cheesecloth is used, which is how I made it for years, often having various mishaps).

The separated milk solids are intensely tasty and can be repurposed and sprinkled on food for a nice seasoning. Indian cuisine often uses them for special desserts. :cake: I imagine they’d be amazing with some cream and erythritol and a few berries…

(Bob M) #31

I know this thread is a bit old, but the recipes for ghee seem all over the place in terms of time. Here’s an Alton Brown recipe that requires 1-1.5 hours:

https://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/alton-brown/ghee-wiz-reloaded-8731005

I’ve also used this one, which does not take nearly as long:

What gives?

I may try the crock pot variety, possibly with turning up at the end, as this seems a lot easier.