About Ghee

Since we cook with more than usual amounts of oil and fats on Chanukah, it’s a good time to talk about clarified butter, or ghee. Clarified butter is used in India, the Middle East, Yemen, Ethiopia, and probably more places than I know of . Wherever there’s lots of milk compared to sources for vegetable oil, people clarify butter. It’s a convenient  medium for sauteeing, frying, and as a base for sauces, because the slow clarification process rids the butter of water and milk solids, which sputter and scorch over heat. Ghee doesn’t burn as quickly as butter in its natural state.

Ghee is the Indian name for this delicate, golden fat, and most Westerners know it by that name. Ethiopians will flavor their ghee with fresh onions, garlic, ginger, and a variety of spices, and call it niter kibbeh ; Yemenites make samna, ghee flavored with fenugreek or other dried spices; Beduin call it smen.

In Ayurvedic medicine, ghee is considered a medicinal substance. It is easy to digest and so helps the body to metabolize the properties of curative herbs and spices in food. Being soft and pleasant on the skin, ghee is also used in massage.  Altogether a nourishing, gentle substance, much healthier than margarine – although those watching their weight shouldn’t overindulge.

It has a delicate taste, melts almost instantly, and gives a particularly fine texture to baked goods. The other great property of ghee is that, properly stored and handled, it lasts outside the fridge for weeks, even in the summer. Once in the fridge, it lasts pretty much forever.

But I don’t want my ghee to last forever, I want to use it up. It has infinite uses. A teaspoon is enough for an omelet; a tablespoon or two will fry a small amount of latkehs. A little ghee stirred into hot vegetables makes a quick, light sauce. Add a little to a soup for smoothness. Today I made roasted spiced nuts, using ghee instead of butter or oil. They came out amazingly light. When I make pancake batter, I reach for the ghee jar instead of melting butter or using oil.

So here’s how you make ghee.

Take 500 grms. of butter – 1 lb. Use this amount, no less, because smaller amounts do tend to overcook during the long simmer it goes through. This will make 1/2 quart of ghee.

Put your butter in a small-to-medium pot, over medium heat.

Now just watch the butter melt. Do not stir. The milk solids will start to coagulate at the top and also form a softer layer at the bottom; you don’t want to mix them up with the clear, golden liquid you will eventually obtain. The butter might splutter (hey, that was a rhyme) – but don’t stand and mutter – it won’t make a clutter if you keep it uncovered. OK, you can now stop rolling your eyes. Just don’t put a lid on the butter. The water in it needs to evaporate.

Once all the butter is melted, turn the heat down to the very lowest flame on your stovetop. I recommend using a flame-tamer between the flame and the pot, if you have one.

You will see a layer of white curds at the bottom of the pan. Foam, which will harden, will rise to the surface of the ghee. Use only a clean, dry spoon to move some of the foam aside gently, to judge the color of the ghee as it cooks.It will shortly become a clear golden color.

When it’s totally clear and stops sputtering, take it off the flame and let it cool till it’s barely warm.

It’s hard to say how long this process takes. Every reference I’ve seen says 15 minutes, but I’ve always found it takes at least half an hour. Maybe it depends on the quality of the local butter and the amount of water in it.

Have ready a clean, dry jar with a square of cheesecloth over it for straining the ghee as you pour it in. (I also keep a small supply of new, washed and dried nylon stockings for these small straining jobs, as cheesecloth is hard to come by here.)

Pour your ghee in gently and discard the solids.Put the lid on the jar and close it tight. Gorgeous, eh?

When the ghee cools down completely, it will solidify, especially in winter.

Always use a clean, dry spoon when handling the ghee – never allow a drop of water to fall on it because it will spoil. Now – want to cook with your ghee? Try my Tomatoes a la Creme, with ghee instead of butter, or Kasha Varnishes, using ghee to sautee the onions. You’ll like it.