Have you ever tried ghee?

Ghee is liquid gold.

This makes any dish taste divine, adding notable depth and a whole lot of flavour.

What is Ghee?

Ghee, or clarified butter, is a staple food of India. It originated and became popular in southern India where milk and butter would go off quickly due to the hot weather that’s customary there.

It is most widely used in Indian and Middle Eastern Cuisines. The Moroccan Tagine, uses ghee as a base for the flavourful stew slowly cooked in a clay dish.

Without a doubt, ghee is one of the most flavourful fats I’ve ever used in cooking.

4 reasons why you should try making Ghee

1. Ghee is shelf stable

Have you ever spent a really long time in the kitchen making something only to forget to refrigerate it and have to throw it out?

If you make Ghee you won’t have to worry about that because it’s shelf stable.

That means that you can leave it on your counter top for up to 3 months and it’ll be fine. In the fridge it’ll be good for up to a year. You could even make a big batch and freeze some of it where it will keep indefinitely.

2. Ghee has a high smoke point

What’s a smoke point?

A smoke point is where the fat at the bottom of the pan has been heated to the point that it starts to smoke.

Why is that important?

Because once oil is heated and starts to smoke it begins to oxidize. Oxidized oil can damage cells in the body and increase the risk for developing diseases like cancer.

Ghee has a higher smoke point than Coconut Oil by over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Ghee has a smoke point of about 485F while Coconut oil has a smoke point of 350F.

3. Ghee is lactose and Casein free

Lactose, the sugar found in milk and casein, the protein are common reasons for those who suffer from dairy intolerance.

Butter contains trace amounts of lactose. As the butter cooks, the milk solids are removed leaving the nourishing butter fat. This makes this oil allergy friendly to those who don’t tolerate milk products. The purest ghee will have trace amounts of lactose and casein, not enough to effect those who don’t tolerate dairy. This makes it a good choice for those who can’t get the nutrition from grass-fed butter.

4. Ghee is high in vitamins A, E and K

Ghee is a nourishing fat. High in vitamins A, E and K, it makes up for where for many people today lack in key nutrients for bone health, brain health, glowing skin and more.

Vitamin A

Vitamin A comes in two forms: plant based and animal based.

The vitamin from plants comes in the form of beta carotene, an orange or red pigment found in plants. The body needs to convert this into an active form of vitamin A but for many people this doesn’t happen because of poor gut health. The animal form of vitamin A is readily available for the body to absorb.

Vitamin E

The largest organ of the body, our skin needs this vitamin to keep it smooth and supple. The antioxidants found in Vitamin E  also protects the body from free radical damage.

Vitamin K

This is needed for blood clotting as well as other functions. But it’s also a vitamin that promotes healthy bones by supplying the right amount of calcium in our bones. People with this vitamin deficiency have less bone density which is a precursor to diseases like osteoporosis.

Although you won’t get a high amount of vitamin K from ghee, it’s enough to make a difference to overall health when added to a healthy and balanced diet.

Why I add Coconut Oil

When I cook, I like to mix both butter and coconut oil together. The flavour it yields is slightly sweet, rich and deeply satisfying. Combining ghee and coconut oil to me just made sense because they taste so good together. But adding the coconut oil to the ghee increases the smoke point which is good!

Coconut oil also adds more nutrition because it’s a very healthy fat.

This article talks more about the health benefits of coconut ghee.

Coconut Ghee Recipe

Ingredients:

Equal amounts of both grass-fed organic butter and cold pressed extra virgin coconut oil. For this recipe I used 1 cup of each for a 1:1 ratio but feel free to add more or less as needed, keeping to the 1:1 ratio.

• 225g of butter (or 1 cup)
• 225g of coconut oil (or 1 cup)

Directions:

1. Set a jar aside with a fine mesh sieve and cheese cloth on top nearby ready to go
2. In a small pan, melt the coconut oil and set aside
3. In a medium saucepan, place the butter into the pot and gently heat until all of the butter has melted and the mixture starts to bubble. It’s really important to keep the heat low because it can quickly start spitting hot oil everywhere!
4. Slowly, a white mixture of milk curds will start to rise to the top. Spoon that off.
5. The butter will continue to bubble, keep skimming off any white milk curds that form at the top
6. After all of the milk curds are skimmed off the surface should be clear but the ghee will continue to cook and bubble
7. Keep cooking on low heat for 5-10 minutes
8. After a few minutes a second white foam will start forming on the top, this is how you’ll know it is almost ready
9. Skim off the second white foam
10. Look to see if there are any brown spots of milk solids at the bottom of the pan, if so then it is ready to be poured into the jar
11. Pour the liquid through the lined fine mesh sieve into the jar then add the coconut oil into the same jar and stir
12. Let the mixture cool then refrigerate it so it sets
13. Use liberally in cooking and baking and use within a year if stored in the fridge. It stored on the counter top, use within three months

Did you try it? I’d love to know how it went in the comments below!