by the handful

Clarified (Ghee) Butter

When the milk solids are removed from butter what’s left is just the healthy fat and this is a tremendous cooking fat. The butter can now be heated to high temps without being damaged. Technically ghee and clarified butter are slightly different being that ghee is cooked a little longer until it becomes slightly brown which gives it a nutty flavor, which is nice. This method originated in India and is referred to as “liquid gold.” Well, whether it’s ghee, clarified butter, or liquid gold for all purposes they are totally interchangeable. You can use however much butter you want, one pound of butter makes a nice batch though. This recipe is more ghee-like than clarified butter, but once again, it really doesn’t matter. If you don’t feel like making it, just buy it.

Clarified (Ghee) Butter

1 pound grass fed organic unsalted butter

A small pot or saucepan                         

Cheese cloth

Chop butter into cubes of even size and place in pot. Heat butter over medium-low heat. Butter will melt completely in a few minutes. Turn stove up to medium heat and soon it will begin to foam.

The butter will foam and bubble off and on while keeping it at a very mellow simmer, although lower the heat if it spouts up. Cooking time once foaming averages about 20 minutes as the butter goes through its progression. Foam will appear on top and the milk solids will sink to the bottom of the pot. Foam can be scraped off along the way or at the end with a spoon or strainer. The ghee is done when the top foam is thickened and there are pieces of milk solids in the bottom of the butter, and the butter itself has gone from cloudy and yellow to clearer and golden. You can call it good here (clarified butter) or cook a little longer allowing the milk solids to brown which will give the butter a little bit of a nutty flavor (ghee butter).

When finished, scrape off any remaining top foam and let ghee cool for a few minutes. Pour the ghee through a strainer lined with cheesecloth into a glass jar. Double the cheesecloth over to catch the milk solids. Ghee butter is stable for about a month, and can be stored in the fridge if you anticipate using it slowly.