Clarified Butter : Elevate Your Culinary Experience & lifestyle

Clarified Butter is a dairy product for its nutrients

Clarified butter is an ancient dairy product that originated in the Indian subcontinent in 1500 BC. The Middle East and Africa have almost similar products that have been available since ancient times. It is an excellent substitute for regular cooking oil, butter oil, or regular butter due to its high smoke point and is widely used in Indian and Middle Eastern cuisines. 

Traditional Ghee can be prepared from cow’s milk/ sheep milk or mixed milk. Apart from its culinary use, it is famous for its multiple nutritional benefits and therapeutic properties on regular use. Ghee is the Indian name for Clarified Butter. As indigenous methods mainly produce Ghee or Clarified butter, sometimes its texture varies in other parts of the world. However, the characteristics, aroma, and use of Ghee and Clarified Butter are similar.

Ghee or Clarified Butter has gained acceptance worldwide due to its characteristic aroma and versatility in cooking world cuisine. The nutritional benefits and therapeutic properties of its healthy fat further increase its use in a regular diet. Thus, coming from Asia, Ghee or Clarified Butter is now a household name for Europe, North and South America, Australia & New Zealand. 

What is Clarified Butter?

Ghee or Clarified Butter is the finest clarified milk fat. It is obtained by heating cow/sheep milk with unsalted butter/cream in a slow cooking process to evaporate nearly all the moisture and solid, not fat giving the product a typical physical structure, aroma, and taste. 

Codex Standards specifies Ghee or Clarified Butter to have 96% minimum milk fat, 0.3% maximum moisture, 0.3% maximum Free Fatty acids, and a peroxide value (PV) less than 1.  

The physical structure of Ghee or Clarified butter consists of a mixture of higher softening point fats in crystalline form dispersed in the liquid of lower softening point fats. This gives ghee or clarified butter a slightly granular, buttery texture.

It has a complex, rich, slightly caramelized aroma generated by the interaction of carbonyls, lactones, and Free Fatty acids during the heating process. This characteristic ghee aroma is one of the primary criteria for its wide acceptance. Along with caramelization during the heating process, the presence of beta carotene gives ghee or clarified butter a golden yellow color. 

Ghee or clarified butter is sometimes prepared from fermented/ sour cream / cultured butter. Lactic Acid Bacteria develop a sharp “cultured” taste during fermentation, which eventually develops a more intense aroma and nuttier taste in ghee or clarified butter during the heating process. Cultured Ghee or Clarified Butter has a consistent customer base for its high aroma.

Nutritional Aspects of Ghee:

• Saturated fats: Ghee or clarified butter is loaded with saturated fat, which works as a filler food. Ghee is high in calories, which is why moderate consumption with tea, coffee, etc., provides sustained energy.
• Ghee in the diet as a daily course and an active lifestyle can improve the natural immunity of consumers. 

Therapeutic Properties of Ghee or Clarified Butter:

Ghee or Clarified Butter has immense importance in Ayurveda due to its therapeutic properties.

• Anti-Inflammatory Benefits: Ghee possesses anti-inflammatory properties, soothing the body and aiding conditions like arthritis, promoting joint health, and reducing inflammation throughout the system.
• Rich in Healthy Fats: With a balanced composition of saturated fats, ghee supports brain health hormone production and aids in absorbing fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E, and K.
• Gut Health Support: Ghee is known for its potential to support a healthy digestive tract. It contains butyric acid, which nourishes intestinal cells and promotes a robust gut environment.
• Immune System Boost: Loaded with antioxidants, ghee contributes to a robust immune system, helping the body combat infections and promoting overall wellness.
• Lactose-Free Nourishment: Clarified butter is a dairy product with minimal lactose. It provides a rich source of nutrients without triggering lactose-related discomfort, suitable for lactose-sensitive individuals.
• Ayurvedic Healing: Recognized in Ayurveda for its therapeutic qualities, ghee is believed to balance the body’s doshas, enhancing overall well-being and fostering a harmonious equilibrium in mind and body.

What makes ghee a popular cooking ingredient?

Ghee or Clarified Butter is considered superior to other cooking fats and oils. This is because of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E, and K, characteristic short-chain fatty acids, and essential fatty acids.

Daily consumption of ghee in the prescribed amount imparts various health benefits. It increases physical and mental stamina, improves digestion and eyesight, enhances the complexion and glow of the face and body, improves hair, binds toxins, helps in weight loss, and provides sustained energy.

Apart from various health benefits, the versatility of ghee as a cooking medium for any recipe from world cuisines makes it a kitchen-friendly product. The following reasons are grouped here to explain its popularity as a cooking medium or a portion of food for daily consumption.

Conventional vs Grass-Fed Ghee or Clarified Butter:

Ghee or clarified butter is consumed in daily life. Conventional Ghee may contain residues of pesticides, antibiotics, and hormones used on dairy animals during conventional farming for increasing milk production. These have critical health impacts. Additionally, sometimes inappropriate protein is fed to cows to stimulate rapid growth or milk production.

On the other side, Grass-fed Ghee is strictly produced from milk derived from ‘stress-free’ or ‘happier’ grass-fed cows raised on a predominantly organic diet/ grass-fed dairying method. 

Organic grass-fed or grass-fed Ghee is repeatedly reported to contain higher fat-soluble vitamins, CLA, and beta-carotene concentrations.

Where to buy clarified butter?

• Customers can buy it online or offline but it has to be of premium quality. Check if the product, you have selected, is vegetarian, SQF-certified, and keto and Paleo diet-friendly.
• Check whether the product is grass-fed cow ghee (prepared from grass-fed butter/cream). If you have selected organic ghee, check if it is certified organic ghee. Also, check if it is premium ghee or blended with coconut oil, vegetable oil or olive oil.
• If you have doubts about buying clarified butter online, know the manufacturer, the reliability of the profile, and the quality assurance certificate of the product you have shortlisted so far.

 How to make homemade ghee or clarified butter: DIY process

When making ghee, unsalted butter is recommended to obtain quality assured and no salty flavor butter. Do not use salted butter.

• Cut the unsalted butter into small pieces to facilitate heat penetration, place the butter pieces into a saucepan to melt at low heat slowly without stirring it, and don’t let it brown.
• Separate milk solids from butterfat; as the butter melt, you can see it separate into three layers;
• The top layer is thin and foamy; this represents some of the milk solids.
• The middle layer is the bright golden butterfat.
• The bottom layer is made up of water and milk solids.
• When the butter starts boiling, skim off the white foam with a spoon. When the butter is melting, you can see no foam on top.
• Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool for about 5 minutes or more so that the solids in the pan get settled at the bottom.
• Skim off the leftover bits of the foam that flow to the surface of the saucepan, slowly decant or pour off the clear butterfat into a glass liquid measuring cup carefully to leave much of the solid behind as you can.
• Line a fine mesh strainer with several layers of cheesecloth and set it over a heat proof container.
• Pour the warm butterfat through the cheesecloth to filter any remaining milk solids.
• You can store your clarified butter ghee in an airtight container for several months.
• Clarified butter is not a usual dairy product; it is an entirely premium product that helps maintain a well-balanced lifestyle.
• According to modern research premium cow ghee is better than any other cooking oil or dairy butter if can be used in moderation.

About Milkio Grass-fed ghee

Try Milkio grass-fed ghee, manufactured by Milkio Foods, New Zealand using the finest ingredients, and traditional ghee making process. Milkio grass-fed ghee is all-purpose and does not contain lactose, casein, and gluten.

The ghee offers an intense nutty feel-good aroma, rich, creamy texture, and versatility, making it a superfood for the kitchen.

Milkio Ghee is a carb, sugar-free product safe for the consumption of lactose intolerants and casein sensitives. It is keto and paleo diet-friendly. 

Milkio ghee offers a high smoke point. It is shelf-stable dairy oil you can store in the kitchen at room temperature for up to 18 months from the manufacturing date. To buy Milkio ghee, please check the Milkio website for product specifications, and/or sales assistance.

Reference Links :

• Ghee
• Butter

---