How to make ghee
It is simple to make ghee on your own once you learn how. It takes several hours of monitoring the stove with your attention, however it is much cheaper to make your own ghee than it is to buy pre-made ghee. Here is a simple recipe for how to make ghee from Divya Alter’s Ayurvedic cookbook. When making your own ghee, source unsalted organic, grass-fed, and/or cultured butter.
According to Divya, ghee is highly absorbent both physically and energetically. Therefore, when you make your ghee, create a clean and peaceful space in your kitchen. You want your ghee to absorb sattvic qualities - those in the mode of goodness. You should feel happy and calm, and can include the sound vibrations of listening to sacred music or repeating sacred mantras, you can also incorporate energetics of the moon by cooking your ghee during the waxing moon, or just hours before a full moon when the moon contains highly nurturing energy. Remember that the process of churning milk into yogurt, yogurt into butter, and butter into ghee, is an ancient alchemical process, potent with healing potentials.
Divya’s Quick Ghee Making Recipe
Place the butter in a 3-4 quart heavy pot; turn the burner to the lowest possible setting. Stir occasionally as the butter melts and starts to bubble. Notice how the three components fo butter begin to separate: water will be on the bottom, butterfat will take up most of the pot, and milk fat solids will mostly rise to the top. As the temperature rises to 200 degrees F, the separation will become more and more distinct; the water will bubble up, maybe with a few eruptions. Many cooks skim the foam on top to speed up their ghee making- that’s not the traditional way; it’s best to let the foam disappear naturally.
Stir the pot occasionally in order to avoid sediment burning and to help the water evaporate.
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.
The ghee is ready when the butter oil is clear, amber in color, and the solids you see on the bottom of the pan are consistent golden brown. 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.
Strain the milk solids from the ghee.
Fold a cheese cloth into 8 layers, or 2 laters if you’re using a flour sack towel, and place it in a strainer atop a mixing bowl. From now on, all utensils the ghee comes in contact with must be completely dry, as moisture will spoil the ghee. Carefully pour or ladle the hot ghee through the cheesecloth. You want to do this quickly. If the temperature drops below 200 degrees F, the fatty nutrients so important to the ghee begin to crystalize. Discard the strained solids. To clean and reuse the cheesecloth, soak it in boiling hot water with soap; hand-wash while the soapy water is still warm.
Let the ghee cool for a few minutes, allowing for any air molecules to dissipate. Pour the ghee into glass jars. Put the lids on only when the jars have cooled to room temperature in order to avoid condensation falling in the ghee. Transfer the closed jars to the refrigerator - this will prevent the formation of layers. Once the ghee has solidified, transfer the jars to a dry and dark space such as a cabinet.
The benefits of cooking with ghee
There are many health benefits to using ghee in your daily cooking. To learn more about them, read our blog post 5 Benefits of Ghee.
