How to make Ghee from butter

How to make ghee from butter? Ghee also referred to as Clarified butter is a must in Indian cooking. No Indian “Tadka” or tempering is complete without ghee. Ghee is used in Aryuveda for medicinal purposes. Making ghee at home is extremely easy but at times its smell can be too overwhelming for family members. I still have a memory of my Mom making ghee on weekends. The whole house would fill up with intoxicating smell of ghee. I am a huge ghee lover and because of it’s rich deep taste and flavor all my dals tadka is prepared with ghee. Because of it’s higher smoking point ghee is also ideal for frying.  People who are lactose intolerant should be careful while adding ghee to their meal because ghee is made from butter and butter comes from milk.

LEARN HOW TO MAKE GHEE IN SLOW COOKER.

In this post I have used unsalted butter to make ghee. Ghee is made my heating butter to a point until the milk solids are separated and the leftover rich yellow colored liquid is GHEE. 

INGREDIENTS- WILL YIELD 5 CUPS OF GHEE

3 lb or 12 sticks or 1500 Gms. of unsalted butter

A heavy bottom pan.

METHOD –

In a heavy bottom pan, add butter and over low heat cook till all the butter melts. Pretty soon you will start to see white foam in the corners of the pan.

As the butter is fully melted foam will become dense and butter will start to boil. While it’s still foaming, keep stirring with a spatula as it will help in settling the foam. Let the butter simmer and maintain the flame on low. Soon you will hear crackling sound that means bubbles are forming and bursting on the surface .

After 5-10 minutes the milk solids will start to curdle and separate and from beneath it emerges the rich golden yellow color of ghee. Once the milk solids settles to the bottom of the pan the ghee will clarify. To make sure I get the golden yellow color of my ghee –  I check the color of milk solids, if they are light brown in color I turn my stove off . REMEMBER even after turning the stove off the ghee is still crackling as the pan is hot so be very careful if you are lifting it off your stove. Allow it to cool down, meanwhile prepare a bowl and set a strainer covered with muslin cloth over it. Once cooled sieve the ghee through the strainer -milk solids will be collected in the muslin cloth and ghee will be strained through it into the bowl beneath. Transfer it to a dry jar and store it in a cool place. If you prefer you can even refrigerate your ghee. Ghee has longer shell life than butter. 

To me ghee stands for –  G- Ghee is , H- Heaven sent, E- Extraordinary, E – Elixir (medicinal potion).