Have you heard of ghee? If you have and you looked for it at the grocery store, you were probably turned off by the high price tag of $10-15 for a jar, like I was!
Anyway, I was recently diagnosed with a casein allergy (the protein in dairy) and told to eliminate dairy from my diet. Being a huge fan of healthy fats, including organic and grass-fed butter, that is not a simple thing to do!
When I was done complaining about it (am I really done??), I decided to try to make ghee to replace some of the butter in my life. Ghee is a cooked-down, clarified butter that is free of lactose (milk sugar) and casein (milk protein) but full of vitamins and healthy fatty acids.
I've made ghee three times now and feel I have a pretty good handle on it, so I thought I'd share my recipe:
Ghee
Prep 10 mins; cook 15 mins; total 25 mins
Yields 2 cups
1 pound of butter preferably organic and grassfed
You will need a saucepan, a small fine wire mesh strainer, cheesecloth, and a pint-size jar for storage.
Cut the butter into cubes and place in the saucepan over low-medium heat (I used 3-4 on gas stove). Heat until completely melted and keep cooking it.
Cook for about 10-15 minutes (this will vary based on your stove). During this time, the butter will go through several stages:
it will foam,
then bubble (looks like boiling),
then seem to almost stop bubbling,
then foam again.
When the second foam occurs, the ghee is done. At this point, the melted butter should be bright gold in color, and there should be reddish brown pieces of milk solids at the bottom of the pan.
Remove from heat and let cool slightly (about 5 minutes) and then slowly pour through the wire mesh strainer lined with a couple layers of cheesecloth. The reddish brown pieces of milk solids at the bottom can be discarded as that is the milk protein (casein). My husband had to taste it because it smelled so good!
Ghee will last up to a month at room temperature or even longer in the fridge. I usually go through it quick enough so it sits beside my stove on the counter.
Ghee has a nice flavor and a high smoke point so it can be used for frying, as well as for seasoning cooked vegetables, etc.--almost anything you'd use butter for.