Ghee is pretty much butter’s super-fabulous cousin…it’s rich, slightly nutty, and great to have at parties. Â In reality, ghee is made from butter that has been heated enough so that the dairy proteins separate from the rest of the mixture and what you have left is the butterfat.
the ghee pictured here is still warm…it lightens in color as it cools.
Because it’s missing the dairy proteins, many people with dairy sensitivities find that it is easier for them to digest than regular butter (but please experiment for yourself because, as always, this is not universal). Â This also means that ghee has a high smoke point which means it’s great for high-heat cooking (much like lard, tallow, duck fat, etc.).
Making ghee is actually super easy which is why I almost never buy it at the store. Â It takes about 15 minutes to make and the cost is really only what you spend on the butter.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 lb of grass-fed butter
Other stuff you’ll need:
- medium-sized, heavy-bottomed pot
- cheesecloth
- glass storage container with tight-fitting lid
Steps:
1.  Place your butter into a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed pot and turn on low heat.
2. Â Allow the butter to melt, swirling it around occasionally.
3. Â Once the butter is melted, it will start to bubble and froth slightly.
4. Â As the butter bubbles, you’ll notice little brown chunks collecting at the bottom and the sides of your pot. Â This is the dairy proteins separating from the butter. Â It’ll also start to get a brown tinge to the bubbles.
5.  Once the froth starts to decrease, your ghee is done. You might noticed that some of the dairy protein will have browned at the bottom of the pan.  Theoretically, this is overcooked but it has a “nutty” flavor and I think it’s absolutely delicious that way. If you don’t like it, you can just cook it a little less next time!
6. Â Place your cheesecloth over the glass storage container and pour the contents of the pot over the cheesecloth. Â You should be left with just the ghee in your storage container.
7. Â Let your ghee cook to about room temperature before placing lid on the jar. Â Notice how it get’s a whole lot lighter in color once it’s cooled (it looks a lot more like the store-bought version now, right?).
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You can either store your ghee on your counter or in the fridge. Â Ghee should not go bad at room temperature as long as you don’t let any water get into the container. Â (If it weirds you out to leave anything derived from butter on the counter, it’s perfectly ok to store it in the fridge…it’ll just be a little harder to scoop out of the container.)
You can use ghee anywhere you would use butter for cooking. Â But it’s also got this wonderful nutty taste that makes it great for spreading on a paleo-friendly cracker or chip (plantain, sweet potato) like you would a nut butter.
This tutorial is erroneous, misleading and ridiculous! All the reasons one who is not a culinary professional should not write about related matters.
Your milk solids should be neither brown nor black, like the article says. That is not ghee. That is buerre noisette (brown butter) and buerre noire (black butter). Ghee or clarified butter is neither of these. It is blonde. To make is simple but requires patience and some skill. Just lower heat to a negligible amount and let it go for a long time. There ought to be NO bubbling. There ought to be NO burned bits. At low temperatures the whey doesn’t burn and alter the flavour of the ghee. It angers me, supremely when I see people imparting wrongful information. Supremely! Zero respect for person who wrote the article.
Thank you for correcting me. I’ll look into it some more. In the meantime, no need insult anyone or imply I’m a horrible person. We’re talking about butter here.
Alex,
You ought to have done your research before writing article. How would you like it if I wrote about your occupation with absolutely no education. You think because it is butter, it is not important? Then don’t write about it, please. We’re talking integrity, here.
It is important but no reason to insult people over it. Same goes for my profession. I’ll make the corrections you pointed out, thank you.
I get that this may not be the correct way to make ghee but your comments are mean natured and completely out of line. This isn’t a personal attack on you but your taking this out on her like it is.
Your talking about respecting someone? How about show some respect you pompous food snob!
I don’t know you Alex but thank you for the blog and for keeping your responses classy! ( at least someone is )
Thank you! I appreciate your kind words and I’m so glad you’re enjoying the blog 🙂
I’m a professional. This is my work! I am tired of misinformation and low standards in this field. Interesting how you feel entitled to your tirade, as I am not entitled to correct and in a stern tone, the same misinformation that is pervasive. I stand by my words. Your tirade stands for what exactly you righteous nut? It’s Saturday and you are foaming at the mouth. Did you drink too much, last night? Try not to kick the dog. 🙂
Self righteous. Correction.