Have you heard of ghee? Or maybe you’ve used this rich, nourishing, and luxurious substance that is essential to any Ayurvedic kitchen. Ghee, often referred to as golden nectar, has a wide range of health benefits and uses and is an ideal fat to use in your daily cooking. Keep reading to learn about its benefits and how to make it at home.
What is Ghee?
Ghee has been used for thousands of years in Ayurveda for cooking and religious ceremonies, as well as therapeutically, both internally and externally.
Traditionally in Ayurveda, the first step for making ghee starts with a process called “culturing,” in which bacterial cultures are added to cow’s milk and churned to make butter cream. The butter then goes through a clarification process which strips away the parts of butter that are the most difficult to digest, such as lactose, casein, whey proteins, and trace minerals. After the impurities of butter have been melted away the resultant state is our beautiful golden nectar. Because this process removes the milk solids many people with lactose-intolerance can and do enjoy ghee’s benefits. Additionally, due to its high smoke point (450°) ghee is an ideal cooking oil.
In today’s modern world ghee can be made from store bought organic unsalted cultured butter.
Ghee’s Benefits
Ghee’s benefits and uses include:
- Improves memory, cognition, and brain function
- Contains butyric acid, beta-carotene, Vitamin E, and more
- Rasayana- rejuvenating which is nourishing to the body and mind
- Good for managing inflammation
- Filled with phenolic antioxidants
- Supports digestion, liver, and kidney function
- Used to support conditions such as anxiety, fatigue, restlessness, and mental imbalances
- Useful in conditions of depletion from excessive physical and mental strain
- Increases immunity (Ojas), reproductive fluid and semen
- Improves eye sight
- Applied externally ghee promotes healing in burns, infections, traumatic injuries, and fever
- Ghee’s unctuous quality makes it beneficial for Vata (wind) disorders and its cooling quality makes it beneficial for Pitta (fire) disorders
- Considered the best oil for people with a Pitta (fire) body constitution
- In Panchakarma (detoxification procedure) ghee is used to facilitate the movement of toxins
(ama) by binding to them and transporting them to the gut for removal
Ghee Cooking Instructions
Preparation time: 3 minutes
Cooking time: 15 minutes
What you’ll need:
- 1 lb (16 oz) unsalted cultured organic butter (I like Kerry Gold or Organic Valley)
- Stainless steel pot or enameled cast iron (make sure it’s a heavy bottom)
- Stainless-steel mesh colander
- Cheesecloth
- Glass jar or steel container with lid for storage
Instructions:
- Place the butter in the pan before turning on the heat. If the butter is frozen, let it thaw for 30 minutes.
- Turn the heat to medium low, and cook uncovered for about 12-15 minutes. As the butter is cooking, you will begin to hear a sputtering sound and see froth bubbling at the top. At this point, begin to keep an eye on the ghee so that it does not burn, which can happen easily.
When it becomes very quiet and is no longer bubbling, the ghee is done. Remove the pan immediately from heat. You will also notice the milk solids get settled at the bottom of the pan and turn light brown when the ghee is done. - Once the ghee cools to around room temperature, pour it through a stainless-steel mesh colander with a piece of cheesecloth on top into a glass or steel container
- Ghee requires no refrigeration and be stored at room temperature in a cool dry place. Ghee is shelf stable and will last forever unless contaminated by water—I always recommend using a clean dry spoon when using it.