Ghee, The Healthiest Butter:

Guest post by Claudia Davila

Carole’s note: I have been making my own ghee since late last year.  In case you don’t know Ayurvedic medicine (from which ghee comes) is the sister healing science to yoga and is thousands of years old. I’m currently seeing an Ayurvedic practitioner hence my interest in ghee. Blood tests recently showed after 6 months of eating ghee I still have healthy cholesterol levels.

Ayurveda teaches that ghee (clarified butter) is a medicinal food.  Its excellent for good health when used in cooking or added to foods. It is one of the most ancient and sattvic foods known, healing to all three Ayurvedic doshas: Vata, Kapha, Pita.

“It is promotive of memory, intelligence, vital fire, semen, vital essence (ojas), kapha, and fat. It is curative of Vata, Pitta, fever and toxins.” — Charaka (author of ancient Indian Ayurvedic text, Charaka Samhita).

Ghee is perfect for cold, dry, stiff and airy Vata types, ghee adds heaviness and lubrication to the body in the joints and in the digestion.   Ghee is cooling and soothing for the fire-based ailments of Pittas, such as fever, acidity, and inflammation.

For all three doshas, ghee helps memory and is a healthy fat that is good for the liver and immune system, though Kaphas should consume it in moderation as it also helps build body mass.

(You can read more about ghee by googling “health benefits of ghee” or click here.

Ghee requires no refrigeration:

When buying ghee, or any dairy product, look for organic. All toxins like to settle in body fat, and especially mammary glands, which makes it important to choose organic animal products like milk and butter, otherwise they tend to be the most laden with impurities like pesticides, herbicides, antibiotics and other drugs, and toxins found in air, water and feed.

An interesting fact about ghee, it requires no refrigeration. The lactose and milk solids have been removed.

How to make ghee with organic butter:

1 block of organic, unsalted butter

1: Place the butter in a heavy-bottomed pot and melt on medium-low heat. Adjust the heat until it begins to bubble nicely, without going too hot.  The water will begin to evaporate.

2: Soon foam will begin to accumulate quite a bit on the top, and the melted butter will be very opaque.

3: Stir occasionally for 15 minutes until the foam starts to reduce and break up, and the milky butter begins to look like clear, golden oil.

4: When there’s a bit of brown sediment beginning to form at the bottom of the pan, the ghee is ready. Be careful not to burn it during these final minutes of cooking. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.

Meanwhile, sterilize a jar and its lid in a pot of boiling water, then remove and dry with a clean towel.

Gently pour the ghee into the jar through a fine metal sieve, with or without cheesecloth lining it.  You only want to get the golden liquid oil and not the brownish sediment at the bottom of the pot.

Store closed; no need to refrigerate.

Use as you would butter or oil, in soups, cooked vegetables, stir into cooked rice or lentil dishes, or spread on toast and tea biscuits.

If you are a visual learner like me I’ve found a youtube video How To Make Ghee which may inspire you to cook a batch of ghee.

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