Saturday, March 3, 2012

Behold the power of ghee!

Clarified butter, or ghee as it is referred to in India, is a way to make butter even more versatile. While butter is a delicious natural fat containing vitamin A, vitamin E, vitamin D and selenium, it has the drawback of a low smoke point. Once butter reaches around 350º, it starts to burn. By removing the milk solids and moisture naturally present in butter, you can increase the smoke point to around 480º, higher than that of many vegetable oils.


This means that your easily burnable butter can now be used to cook at high temperatures...even deep fry. By making ghee, you are no longer forced to use potentially unhealthy, high omega 6 vegetable oils just because you want something fried nice and crispy.
How to make ghee

  • Melt unsalted butter over low heat in a sturdy pot. Make sure you do NOT stir.
  • Cook the melted butter until it is a clear golden liquid (approx 20-30 minutes). Light brown milk solids will form and settle to the bottom of the pan. Skim off and discard any thick foam that forms on the top.
  • Strain ghee through a strainer lined with cheese cloth or coffee filters into a clean, dry jars.
  • Ghee does not need to be refrigerated and will be semi-solid at room temperature.

1 comment:

Laura S. said...

Yum! Love it.
And, btw..in April I had my yearly physical and was taken off of my cholesterol meds. Doc said my numbers were better than ever. I said to her, have you any idea of how much fat I eat? Copious amounts. She hung her head and said... I know, I know.. Hush. Some docs just don't want to admit that eating fat, reduces fat. And tasty too!