Today’s guest post was written by Ed Ammons.
Ghee for little Ira!
Ghee is butter that has been cooked gently, for long enough to evaporate all the water and separate the milk solids. The removal of these two items makes it shelf stable. These two items are what causes butter to spoil.
Milk solids are also the source of milk allergies and lactose intolerance. Breast feeding mothers can usually eat ghee as a substitute for butter without activating her baby’s allergies. Here we go……….
I started with 4 pounds of butter.
In an 8-quart stock pot.
I turned the stove eye to its lowest setting and started by melting the butter, and then continued cooking it at the same temperature. As you cook the water in the butter starts to separate and since it is heavier than the fat, it all sinks to the bottom along with the milk solids. At this point you could pour the fat off (decant?) the water, strain it into a container and have Clarified Butter. I chose to take it a step further and make Ghee.
Ghee is clarified butter in which the milk solids are cooked until they are “toasted” and the water has been cooked off. Toasting is my own word that means the proteins and sugars are caramelized. A lot of stirring is necessary in this process which prevents the solids burning and allows the water to escape as steam.
This is point is where it can be a bit sketchy! The water is trapped underneath a layer of fat. As it heats the water wants to boil, turn to steam and escape into the atmosphere. The fat prevents this so that pressure develops and can result in an explosion of steam and fat in your kitchen (it happened to me). Stirring allows many mini explosions to occur instead of one massive one.
Here are the results. If you can see it, the milk solids have clumped together and are sitting on the bottom. The water is all boiled away. But, I was not done yet. I continued to cook and stir until the solids reached a dark brown color.
Like this!
This caramelization imparts a slightly toasty, nutty flavor to the finished product yet without the allergy causation.
Now for the first straining (sorry, no picture) and filtering. I strained the ghee, through a single coffee filter into a separate container, washed and dried the stock pot and poured the ghee back through a doubled filter into the stockpot.
The ghee, at this point, would be fine on the counter for up to a couple of months or in the refrigerator for up to two years or more. But, as an extra precaution I decide to waterbath and seal it.
Three pints, one half pint and half of a half pint jars is the result. If a pint is a pound then from 4 pounds of butter I have produced three and 3/4 pounds of beautiful golden Ghee!
It was so kind of Ed to make the ghee for Chitter and it was also very nice of him to share the method he used!
Last night’s video: Too Cold To Work! Tipper Uses Fancy Words & Hiding the Monkey.
Tipper
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Tipper, I’m new to your blog and utube. Found you and your family about a year ago. I love your blog and the way you attach blogs from the past. I get a cup of coffee every day and read and keep going back to previous blogs. Especially love your recipes. I made your meatloaf last week and your biscuits today. Both were good and will definitely make again. Thank you and your family.
Sandra-so glad you are enjoying what we do! Thank you 🙂
Excellent tutorial! Thanks!
A friend whose family is from Norway makes this for steamed veggies…She introduced us to it about a year ago and we were instantly hooked. We just make enough for the dish at hand but it is the most wonderful taste with broccoli, carrots, cauliflower and most any other fresh veggie. I had never heard of it but she referred to it as “Burnt Butter” (*Tipper, check your email!)
I would call that “Brown Butter”. The difference is the milk solids are filtered out of ghee. Brown Butter is good but not for lactose intolerant people and people with milk allergies.
A lovely , thoughtful gift ! Very cool
To see how it’s made , also. Thank you for sharing this !
I have never made Ghee, but have had and used it, so it was very interesting to read the process on how to make it. It sounded quite time consuming with much attention required so one doesn’t end up with a greasy mess in the kitchen! 🙂 I am wondering if the type of butter one used would differ the Ghee one ended up with such as regular butter, grass fed butter or true organic butter? Or would that be of any importance regarding end quality or allergies? As one with environmental and chemical allergies ( mild-ish to severe and life threatening) and having to be very careful of what I ingest, or am exposed to re: skin contact, and in ‘air’ I breath, my heart goes out to both sweet Ira and Katie! My youngest was allergic to cows milk so we got a goat and he thrived on that. I pray Ira will outgrow all the reactions he is having now – my youngest did. Blessings and hugs to each of you. And thank you Ed for the cooking lesson! 🙂
I had never heard of ghee before you and Katie talked about it. I had just assumed you were talking about clarified butter. Thanks for the education! It’s one of the reasons I love your sight.
Excuse my ignorance, but I never heard the word ghee until today. Will someone further enlighten me on its uses at the table? Do you spoon it on a biscuit or in your grits? Will it work in a pound cake recipe?
It’s great to cook with because it doesn’t burn like butter. So I use it often for cooking eggs and veggies. Plus I don’t worry so much about it going bad because it’s much more stable than butter even left on the counter. My cat likes it every so often instead of hairball medicine. It makes a great hand cream that softens rough skin and soaks in fast. I’ve used it to butter bread in a pinch but the taste is kinda bland to me.
I think that’s so thoughtful that Ed would do this for Katie and Ira. I’ve been hearing a lot about ghee and although I have never tried it, I have Crohn’s disease and this may help me. Thank you for sharing the process. Praying for Katie and Ira. I can’t think of another mother that has tried harder than Katie has to help her sweet boy.
I have never tasted ghee. Does it turn solid and spread like butter or does it stay liquid? This was a very interesting post. I like to learn new things and your daily posts never disappoint. I hope everyone has a wonderful day. It’s going to get near 50 here in NC West Virginia. I am ready for the snow to melt now.
Morning everyone. I did make ghee many years ago. I was able to buy it at a Middle Eastern mkt., maybe that’s why I stopped making it. But for anyone who isn’t able to make it, some stores do carry it. I have a container that has been in my fridge 4 years. I now live in a tiny town in Arkansas. I must have bought it at Kroger, ’cause I see they carry many brands. It might be in the oil aisle. Amazon also carries it. But make it if you can, I remember it being easy to make. Anna from Arkansas.
I’ve always bought it, too. My first experience with ghee was at an Indian restaurant where I ordered a meal that was so spicy I was sweating and my face got bright red. They brought me out a little bowl of ghee to put over some plain rice and it really helped. Funny story. Could never figure out if it’s less expensive to make myself and nervous about making it and ruining all that butter but at least then I’d know exactly what kind of butter/milk it was made from. May give it a go after reading these posts. Thanks.
This post has been very educational for all of us who want to make ghee but don’t know where to start. It’s no wonder a pound of the finished product is so expensive in the stores. When butter goes on sale, I will experiment using one pound for starters. Thank you and your readers for sharing great information.
I’m like Glenda, I may not comment but I read everyday.
Thank you for showing us how to make it Tipper and Ed. I sure need to try this.
I’d like to ask for prayers for myself. I feel selfish with all the people worse off than me. Please pray my health gets figured and straightened out and I get a job that with make mine and my daughters lives easier. Thank y’all
Kourtni-I will pray for your health and for a job that will help you all!!
Wow, that is amazing. I had no idea that is how one makes ghee. I’ve heard about people making it but no one has shared the details of how to actually make it. That was a lot of work. What a blessing Ed is for making it to give for Chitter to be able to us on Ira’s foods. Thank you Ed for doing this for them! You are a blessing!
A local Indian grocery has ghee for sale and I believe will buy some and see what I think of it. I’ve been intrigued since Katie’s been talking about using it instead of butter and I watched it being made on the YouTube channel Homesteading with the Zimmermans.
WOW! Kudos to Mr. Ammons for being such a wonderful person, doing this for Katie and Ira! Many thanks also for showing everyone else how to do it!
Prayers for Ira as he grows!
good morning Ed, God bless you very much, I just have heard of this ghee, I wish I could make it, I’ve got regular butter, I use spray Pam olive oil to cook my eggs in, butter for grilled cheese sandwich on sugar free bread, thank you Ed and God bless you very much
Thank you very much Norman and may God bless you too!
I never heard of ghee before today, but I will be on a quest to learn about it. I think it’s quite lovely and to me looks like oil. My understanding is it helps with food sensitivity and allergies? I think it’s amazing it can last for years too! Anything worth eating is worth working hard to get! I hope it really helps with the allergies. It’s supposed to be sunny and 54 today here in the Arctic WV… I can’t believe it y’all!!! Have a great day as I try to cut down on too much enthusiasm (which may be illegal.) I bought begonia seed-so small you need a microscope and slide not to lose them. I got 5 in a plastic tube. I need at least several more tubes of sparse seed…I’m getting my seed together to start in March… getting excited, but not too much…
Greetings, lovely people! About 25 years ago I learned how to make ghee from a man from Calcutta. I have been making it ever since. The only difference in his method was that he said to never stir it. I have had jars of ghee stored for many months. A jar sits on my kitchen counter at all times and it never spoils. I like to cook it longer so that it turns a bit brown and gives off a nice nutty flavor. I use cheesecloth to strain it. Store bought ghee is very pricey (it can be $12 a pint around here) so I don’t buy it for that reason, and because I’m not a very trusting person when it comes to manufacturing processes and unknown additives. It takes me about 1.5 hours to make a batch because my stove temperature is so low. Faster cooking will definitely get the boil-ups rolling, so please don’t do that. Using a heavy bottom pot helps prevent boil-ups and burning, but use what you have. Thanks to Ed for sharing his “recipe”. It’ll be a good comfort to Katie and Ira.
Thanks for sharing this. I’ve heard about ghee but have never seen the process.
The first I ever heard of ghee was on your channel. I learn so much from watching and reading your blog. I can’t wait for Chitter to be able to have that piece of your homemade pizza! I’m sure the girls will film this momentous event lol!
I’ve never tried this and I think I might need to next time buyer is on sale!
I bought a large container from Costco months ago. I use it all the time and love the flavor of it.
Thanks for sharing this method with us.
Thank you for showing us how to make ghee, something I will have to try, maybe, down the road!
Good morning, Tipper. My name is Jackie. I watched all your videos and enjoy them very much. I am very unlearned in technology stuff, only knowing how to email and text. anyway, I wanted to send this word of wisdom to you. It is so meaningful to me and hope it is to you and the viewers.
Words of wisdom: What if you woke up today with only what you thanked God for yesterday.
When you cease to walk in love, you cease to walk in God.
Is anyone in heaven because of me?
Thank you and may god continue to bless you and your family. I love y’all.
Jackie
Jackie, thank you! I’m so glad you enjoy what we do!!
Jackie, I like those words of wisdom, they make me think about how I live my life.
I am very much like you when it comes to this technology stuff, when I was in school, we had to use our brain, we couldn’t depend on an app or smart phone. I recently read something that said “nowadays many people have more app’s than brains.” I only need a strong back and a weak brain to work the manual labor jobs that I worked in my life!
I made ghee about 5 years ago and it is till in my pantry. I did use the pressure cooker way of preserving it and I feel better. I would not have trusted it by WBing it, so pressure was my way to go. With the price of Butter and Cream Cheese what it is today, I am so glad I did it years ago. Prayers for sure for Granny and God’s Blessing on all you guys. Thanks for all you do. I might not comment every day, but rest assured I read and file you video daily.
I agree that pressure canning is the safest way to preserve most foods but ghee is pure fat. Bacteria do not thrive in fat at all. Once you boil away the water and filter out the proteins bacteria have nothing to live on. That’s why ghee is safe to leave out on the counter. Air, temperature extremes and sunlight do eventually degrade fat but that happens whether it is water bathed, pressure canned or neither.
How kind of you to make this for Katie/Ira, Ed! Thank you for showing us your process with such detailed photos. 🙂