The Art of Making Ghee
Why use Ghee? Ghee is considered to be one of the most health-promoting of all foods. Read more here.
I recommend learning how to make your own, see steps below.
Benefits of Ghee:
· Nourishing to the brain, promotes memory and intelligence.
· Enhances digestion.
· Kindles digestive fire.
· Provides very deep nourishment to all dhatus (tissues).
· Increases Ojas. (master biochemical of happiness, immunity and overall vitality)
· Contains antioxidants.
· Enhances the immune system.
· Packed with fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E & K.
· Helps sustain healthy microbes in the G. I. tract.
· Helps detoxification.
· Pacifies all three doshas.
· Promotes longevity and fertility.
· One of the highest smoke points of any cooking oil (485 F)
· Reduces inflammation
· Heals the lining of the gut
Ghee made from organic butter is one of the highest natural sources of CLA (Conjugated Linoleic Acid). CLA enhances immune function, improves high cholesterol and blood pressure levels, help you lose weight, and increases your energy and endurance.
Here are the steps I follow for making ghee. Please note; If you are unable to start from cream, purchase good quality butter (I recommend cultured butter) and skip to Step 4.
1. Buy good quality organic cream. This I purchased from Vita Health - Avalon brand. I used about 4 cartons (500 ml each)
2. Culture the cream. This is done the same way as making yogurt. I heated up the cream until just about boiling, then removed from heat. (careful not to scorch, use gentle heat) Once it was cool enough (around 120 F) I added a few packages of yogurt culture (from Vita Health) to it, following the instructions on the packaging. I placed this in a large glass container with the oven light on for about 6 - 8 hours. Then cool the cream down in the fridge, I left mine for a day or so, until I had the opportunity to continue.
3. Make butter. Placing the cool cultured cream in your food processor, blend on low until the cream solidifies and looks like butter! You definitely want to save the liquid left over as this is the best buttermilk ever! You could squeeze the butter (between 2 plates I have heard works) to remove as much of the buttermilk as you can.
4. Gently cook the butter. When you have some time to spend in the kitchen with not much else to do, begin the process of clarifying the butter. You have to really watch it to know when it is done. Start by placing the butter in a large stainless steel sauce pan and gently cook the butter on lowest heat. It doesn't change quickly but it will start to look different. Notice the whitish substance starting to float to the top, that is the whey separating. Stir the pot occasionally in order to avoid sediment burning and to help the water evaporate.
5. Continue to cook on low heat until it starts to look clear and the milk fat solids sink to the bottom of the pot. When the solids have more or less settled to the bottom (as opposed to floating around), stop stirring from the bottom up. Let the milk fat solids rest at the bottom. Because the water is reduced, the temperature rises faster and the butterfat begins to lose its cloudiness; the large bubbles you saw earlier have turned into thin foam.
6. Pay close attention, the ghee is ready when the butter oil is clear, amber color, and the solids you see on the bottom of the pan are consistent golden brown. Remove the pan from the heat as soon as you see this. You should be able to clearly see the bottom of the pan. Light tan or blackish solids are not good signs. If the solids are mostly tan, keep the ghee in the refrigerator between uses. If the solids have become black, you’ve scorched the ghee and all its healing properties—remorsefully, you will have to discard it.
7. Strain the ghee. Line a fine-mesh metal strainer with cheese cloth to remove the last of the milk proteins. The clear liquid you have strained is ghee!
8. Place the ghee in a sanitized glass jar. It will solidify in a day or so. Ghee should NOT be refrigerated, keep it in your cupboard at room temperature and it will last for 6 months!
Check out my pictures below to see how it changes as you cook it:
