A type of "clarified butter," ghee is traditionally known as an ingredient in South Asian (e.g. Indian) cooking.
More recently, however, it has been adopted by followers of The Paleo Diet™, who seem to tout ghee as the new coconut oil. Don't worry, though - I'm not here to promote some new, random "superfood." I just think it's cool that you can make it at home, and all you need is butter. My DIY curiosity got the better of me here.
And just what is ghee or clarified butter? Basically, it's the fat/oil left over from butter after the milk solids and water have been removed. And since the milk part of it is gone, ghee can be consumed by those who are lactose intolerant.
There are tons of videos and blog posts on how to make ghee - instructions aren't hard to find. This is all well and good, unless you're like me. I've never really cooked with ghee or seen it firsthand, so I don't know what I'm looking for exactly as an end product. One video told me that I should simmer the butter for about 45 minutes, or until it starts to smell like toffee. I must not know what real toffee smells like because I never got a toffee smell the entire time. My first batch ended up looking like maple syrup and smelling like old, rancid fryer oil.
All that is to say that I want to share this recipe with you, including a few tips from my ghee-making experience, so you don't end up accidentally ruining good butter like I did.
Making ghee is relatively easy. All you need is some butter and a lot of patience. Ha!
No, but seriously - here's what you'll need:
- Unsalted butter
- Pot (big or small enough to allow the butter to simmer for at least 30 minutes without it completely evaporating or burning)
- Spoon
- Glass jar or other container strong enough to withstand hot oil, and big enough to hold all your ghee (about a half pound of butter yields about a cup or so of ghee)
- Coffee filter
- Rubber band (optional - to hold the coffee filter in place)
Directions:
- Put the butter into the pot and melt it over low to medium heat. You can cut the butter into smaller cubes to help speed up the melting process.
- Bring the melted butter to a low simmer. You'll be letting it simmer for about 30 to 45 minutes. DO NOT STIR. AT. ALL!!! The butter has to separate. Also, NEVER cover the pot once while cooking.
- Make sure the heat is strong enough to maintain the simmer without letting the butter burn. After the first 10 or so minutes, you'll notice a good amount of foam has risen to the top. Use your spoon to skim off the foam.
- Check back every 5 to 10 minutes to keep removing any foam that appears. Be careful not to stir the butter too much or scrape along the bottom of the pot. You'll notice that there's some build up on the bottom (these are milk solids), and some of it may even look like it's starting to burn. Leave it alone. Scraping the bottom of the pot will only incorporate the burned bits into your oil, which you don't want to do.
- After skimming the foam off the butter for about the third time, you may notice that the simmering has started to die down, as well as the production of more foam. Once your butter is no longer producing any more foam, remove it from the heat. This is a sign that your ghee is ready. If I were to assign it a scent, I would say something approaching buttered popcorn. The oil should still be a nice, golden color. If it is any shade of tan or brown, you've gone too far.
- As the oil cools, affix the coffee filter to the mouth of your jar with the help of a rubber band (see image above). Make sure the coffee filter dips down into the jar a little bit to create a reservoir because the oil may take some time to filter completely through.
- Once the jar is ready, carefully pour your ghee through the coffee filter, into the jar. Wait for the oil to cool down some before you put the lid on.
** UPDATE **
Taking a whiff of the finished product, it actually does smell a bit like toffee! I'll be darned!
