Ghee is a clarified butter, used in India and throughout South Asia in daily cooking.
It has a distinctive toasted flavor, often described as nutty.
Ghee is considered a saturated fat since it is derived from animals. Nevertheless, many studies indicate that it is healthier and easier to digest than butter because it contains less fat. It is therefore recommended for people who are on a low fat diet since a very small quantity of ghee can add more flavor to the food than any other oil or fat products.Before the advent of commercial vegetable oils, ghee was widely used for deep-frying because of its high smoking point. According to the ancient Ayurveda, a small amount of ghee is the best cooking oil.
Another advantage of ghee is that it doesn’t need refrigeration.
It can be bought in Indian food stores, or made at home following this simple recipe
Ingredients:
(yields 1 1/2 cups) A B Gf V
- 1lb. of organic unsalted butter
Place butter in medium saucepan over medium-high heat to melt it and bring it to boil. This takes approximately 3 to 4 minutes. Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low. Watch the ghee all the time because it can easily burn.
The butter will form a foam that will disappear. Whitish curds will begin to form on the bottom of the pan. A second foam will form on top of the butter, which will turn a nice golden color, in approximately 7 to 8 minutes. At this point brown milk solids will sink to the bottom of the pan. When the liquefied butter becomes transparent and you can see the bottom of the pan clearly, the ghee is done.
Let it cool down until warm, then pour it into heatproof container through fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth.
Ghee does not need refrigeration and will keep in airtight container for up to one month.