Ever used ghee? It has the benefits of butter without the casein and proteins that some people react to in butter. so it’s basically the best of both worlds!
What Is Ghee?
In technical terms, ghee is a clarified, unsalted butter with the milk proteins removed. It has a high smoke point, making it perfect for cooking, and an incredible flavor. Many people who cannot tolerate dairy can handle ghee and it is a revered food in Indian cuisine.
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The Benefits of Ghee
I’m a big believer that traditional cultures knew things about food that science is still catching up to, and ghee is one of these foods! From fermenting sauerkraut to soaking nuts and seed to release their phytic acid, learning how to make traditional foods is an important step when it comes to improving nutrition and gut health.
Ghee is considered “liquid gold” and very important in Indian culture (and has been for centuries). When made from high quality butter from grass fed cows, it is a great source of fat soluble vitamins like vitamin K and is great for teeth, hair, skin, and nails.
How Does it Taste?
Let’s be honest… ghee is like butter on crack! It has more intense flavor and more nutrients, so a little bit goes a really long way. The flavor is great in many different recipes and dishes and you can use it pretty much as you would butter.
If you’re buying store-bought, I do find the flavor really varies by brand and definitely recommend this one over all others just based on flavor.
How to Use Ghee
I like using ghee for making stir frys in a wok since it has such a high smoke point. Also, with wok cooking, only a tiny amount of ghee is needed. Ghee is also incredible on a baked sweet potato, in eggs, or on steamed or roasted vegetables.
Ghee is expensive to buy, but simple to make, so this is one traditional food I keep in our meal prep rotation. Unlike butter, it does not need to be refrigerated and is softer for spreading when kept at room temperature. This makes it great for traveling or packing for the beach or camping.
If you’ve never tried it, I highly suggest making ghee and trying it in your cooking, especially if you are sensitive to dairy!
Homemade Ghee Recipe
Servings
Nutrition
Notes
- Ghee will last up to a month at room temperature or even longer in the fridge.
- I use this brand when I don't have time to make homemade.
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If you’re a visual learner, here’s a photo walk-through of all the steps to make it.
Ever made ghee at home? Ever tried it? Share your experience below!
Butter needs to be refrigerated? We have never refrigerated it. It sits on the counter soft and ready to be used.
Thank you for this awesome recipe. Your mentioning “During this time, the butter will go through several stages. It will foam, then bubble, then seem to almost stop bubbling and then foam again. When the second foam occurs, the ghee is done” was SO helpful. I’ve tried making ghee before, and was never sure when to stop simmering the butter. When the second foaming happened, the butter did indeed turn a warm reddish color, and was done, which took a bit longer than I had expected.
Im not sure if amazon is blocking your affiliate links or blocking me but it will not let me use any of your links. I do live in Canada but have an American friends address that I use when things dont ship to Canada and it still takes me in a loop asking if I would like to switch countries and no matter what I choose yes or no it wont let me see the product you are recommending it is very frustrating. Not sure if there is anything you can do but I almost feel as if I should just stop trying to use you site if not. 🙁
Not sure what to do about that. First time I’ve heard of this issue and there are lots of Canadian readers. Make sure your browser is updated and see if that helps?
Please research Dr. Mark Hyman and what he and others have to say about disease and food. Hint: we largely do it to ourselves by following old dietary guidelines. The food pyramid has been turned upside down and it’s all in the name of recent medical understandings of what has caused heart disease, diabetes, possibly dementia and incredible rise in America of obesity. He’s a “must read”.
What about using a coffe filter instead of cheese cloth? Seems cheaper than buying cheese cloth for those that wouldn’t have any other uses for it.
Why is it that ghee has more calories per tsp than regular butter?
How long after you pour the ghee into jars can you eat it? Will the ghee harden a little bit at room temperature? I made ghee yesterday and woke up this morning to find my ghee was still liquid but had little lighter colored spots in it especially on the bottom, is that normal or did I ruin my ghee? I’ve been storing my ghee on my kitchen counter at room temperature.
I have made this ghee recipe multiple times and I keep having a mold/ black growth problem. I make it and strain through cheese cloth and put into small 4oz mason jars. I see it usually in the bottom. Black/moldy looking. I always keep it refrigerated. Help! 🙂
can I use a glass gravy separator instead of cheese cloth? Also can ghee be put in freezer for an extended period of time?
I thought that the difference between ghee and clarified butter is that ghee is cultured with yogurt after it is made. Am I off on this?
Dear Katie, I love your posts but sometimes I feel you really overtry to sell something and aren’t being completely fair to the readers. First, ghee is not easy to travel with such as on a beach trip as you suggested because it gets to liquid form quite easily (the weather doesn’t even have to be too hot for it to melt). Second, ghee is not like butter on crack taste-wise. It’s more of an acquired taste, it can leave almost a pungent aftertaste in the back of the nose and mouth. Many people coming from ghee-using cultures don’t favor it as they don’t like it’s taste. That’s not to say that those who do love ghee will find that foods taste many times better when using it. But otherwise, good post to bring attention to this often neglected alternative to butter and oil.
Thank you for the visual aids!! I’m pretty verbal, but when it comes to DIY, visual is king.
FOR Allison:
I contacted a crock pot company and they said that both low and high on any crockpot is THE SAME! Crockpots should be called slow cookers, as they cook using the same degree of heat, it just takes LONGER to get to the temperature on low than it does on high. I believe the final temp. is around 250-280 for both low and high, I just wish I could remember exactly what temperature, but have forgotten. You could email the maker of your own particular crock pot and find out.