Ghee

Ghee is clarified butter. It is a staple of Indian cooking like olive oil is to the Italian cuisine. Ghee is also used in French cooking.

Ghee, once made, will keep indefinitely-six or eight months is reasonable-without refrigeration. You need butter to make ghee, not any imitations even if "it can fool mother nature." Use the light salted variety.

What You Need:
1 pound of lightly salted butter (this will make at least 1/2 pound pure ghee) 
1 1-quart heavy-bottom sauce- pan 
1 cooking spoon, not slotted 
1 clean glass container 
1 spare container (to hold the residue - you can use an empty can and throw it out.) 

Directions:
Melt the butter in the pan directly over medium heat. Do not burn. It will begin to bubble and foam. By the time it reaches a slow, rolling boil, the milk solids will move to the top. Take the pan from the heat and carefully skim off the foam with the spoon, discarding it in the spare container. 

Repeat this process several times to remove as much of the foam as possible. 
Then return the pot to the heat and let it gently come to a boil again. More solids-scantier this time -will again rise to the top. Skim off again. By this time, you should have taken off all the residue. If not, try again. 

Put the pot back on the stove and turn off the heat; let it rest for a minute or two. A thin, skin-like film will form. Remove it gently with the spoon. Discard. 
What remains in the pot is a clear liquid, the sweetly aromatic ghee, floating on the heavier solids, which sit in the bottom like lead. 

As soon as the ghee has cooled down-but before it gets completely cold-strain through a fine-meshed tea strainer into the glass container. Stop pouring when the heavier solids move to the strainer. 

Cool; cover. The straining should have caught what few solids remain between top and bottom. 

Time to Prepare: 15 minutes

[Holistic Living Home][Holisticonline Home]

1stholistic.com and Holisticonline.com are developed and maintained by ICBS, Inc.
Send mail to: info@holisticonline.com with comments about this web site.
Copyright © 1998-2009 ICBS, Inc. Terms of Use
All Rights Reserved.