According to Ayurveda, ghee is the most beneficial and balancing oil available to us. If you’re wondering why that is the case, read this to get the skinny on this wholesome fat.

Unfortunately, ghee is relatively expensive and can’t be found in most supermarkets. What can be found in most supermarkets, however, is butter – organic, unsalted butter. And it is from this that we can make our ghee.

Buy Butter

Most supermarkets sell organic, unsalted butter so this step is pretty straightforward.

Why organic? Because 70% of all antibiotics used today are used on livestock along with countless other steroids and profit-increasing chemicals, all of which have a propensity to being stored in the fat. It simply isn’t worth taking the risk on your future health when you use animal products so choose life… choose organic.

How much butter? I’ve turned 2lbs (500g) of butter at a time but there’s no reason you couldn’t make a larger batch.

Melt It

Get a pot that suits the size of your butter and add some heat. It’s important not to be in a rush. The process of making ghee takes around 30 minutes and any shortcuts will affect the quality and taste of the ghee – being hasty brings few rewards.

 
 
 
 

Strain It (in situ)

In the specialty of ghee making there are some controversies. Some would say this step is unwarranted… even unnecessary. Strain it now or strain it later, your choice. Personally I like to watch my ghee and this step helps to pass the time.

Get out your trusty tea strainer and go to town on the congestive white film that is floating atop the melted butter. The white film is the milk solids that separate from the butter when it’s heated and it’s the white film that causes our tickers to stutter – liberate the ghee and live long.

I find it useful to put the milk solids in a small bowl so that I can be reminded of why I don’t eat lard. Or butter.

For a very long time you’ve been discouraged from eating butter in favor of the more “healthy” margarine option. As you are now realizing, margarine isn’t really a food which might have led you back to butter if you weren’t reading this and realizing you can have ghee instead. Or, as you may like to call it, “butter without that really gross white stuff”.

Yeah, I can’t believe it’s not butter either.

Cook It

You managed to pass some of the time by straining (in situ) with your trusty tea strainer but there’s still more cooking to be done.And this is where it gets subtle. Your ghee will go from having an unctuous, buttery quality:

And when it’s ready, the film on top and the bubbling will become more rough, thin and cracked:

Like I said, it’s subtle. But you’ll know it when you see it.

Cook it too long and you’ll be left with a caramalized taste. Don’t cook it long enough and you won’t get rid of all the milk solids. It’s a fine line.

Strain It (proper)

At this point you realised that it’s important to read these directions ahead of time and already added a cheesecloth to your kitchen supplies. Now is the time to use it.Fold the cheesecloth several times and place it inside a strainer and then place the strainer inside a funnel. Remove the ghee from the stove and wait long enough for everything to cool before you perform the final straining – 20 minutes should do it.

If you strained in situ then there won’t be much to catch in the cheesecloth but it’s important to make as close to pure ghee as you can.

 
And… scene, we’re done. You’ve just made the healthiest oil for cooking and using on salads, bread, etc.

Accept nothing less than the best for your health.