Ghee Manufacturing Process: Crafting Quality Dairy Goodness The ghee manufacturing process is always intricate regardless the manufacturer follows a traditional small-scale method or an advanced industrial process for bulk production. The traditional process is also called the Ayurvedic process for making quality ghee in small quantities. Different methods are applied for making ghee in the dairy industry as a ghee manufacturing process. However, all the ghee production methods work on the same methodology or preparation flow. These processes are:  Traditional ghee-making process The method is called the Vedic ghee manufacturing process and is divided into five interrelated steps. These steps extend from procuring raw material (milk) to making the end product, ghee, and clarified butter. In the traditional method, these five steps are essential because it is believed that diligently following these 5 steps is the secret to making the best quality ghee. Each of these steps is called sanskar in this Ayurvedic ghee manufacturing method. Step (sanskar)-1: procurement and boiling Procurement is vital for making ghee in the traditional ghee manufacturing process. The quality of raw material, milk butter, largely depends on farming and the cow’s diet. Grass-fed milk is always better than grain-fed milk. In traditional ghee manufacturing, 25-30 liters of cow milk is required to make around 1 liter of cow ghee. In Ayurveda, grass-fed cow’s milk is the best raw material for premium ghee. The milk is thoroughly boiled. This long boiling process helps in two ways. The milk collected from the dairy farm gets wholly disinfected. On the other hand, by using the boiling process, the manufacturers make the texture of the cow milk more concentrated. Step (sanskar)–2: Curdling In the ghee manufacturing process, boiled milk is converted into curd. One tablespoon of curd is added to the milk in the traditional process. Instead of curd, in-home sometimes lemon juice or any natural sour ingredient is added to milk. The milk stays overnight in a covered pot and gets converted to curd. Once the curd is fully prepared, it is churned thoroughly. Step (sanskar)–3: Churning The curd is now churned by a wooden churner called Bilona. Traditionally, card churning is done in a two-way direction of bilona, one clockwise and the other anticlockwise. Churning is mostly a lengthy method. Once the curd gets divided into butter and buttermilk, the raw ingredients of ghee, the milk butter gets prepared. Step (sanskar) – 4- Separating At the end of the churning in the ghee manufacturing process, butter and the buttermilk get segregated. This butter is then used to produce ghee. The butter is also called ghee butter. It is still not free from the milky part, which means this ghee butter may contain lactose and casein. By heating the cooking process, clarified butter and ghee, which are lactose- and casein-free, are produced. Step (sanskar) – 5- Heating In ghee manufacturing, the produced butter is now placed in a heavy-bottom steel pot and heated against a medium-high flame. Once the ghee butter starts boiling, the manufacturer offers some more time to boil so that the water in the ghee butter evaporates entirely. During the boiling process, the milk butter gets clarified, and a visible layer of solids is found at the bottom of the pot, indicating that the ghee is almost ready. At this phase, you will get to smell the nutty aroma of cow ghee, and the butter will turn yellow-golden. In the final step, the golden liquid ghee is filtered via a strainer and stored in jars for later use. It is vital to store the ghee in a dry jar away from exposure to light, heat, and moisture. The advanced method of the ghee-making process However, the traditional ghee manufacturing process was mainly used for homemade ghee-making. However, dairy companies usually use another industrial ghee manufacturing method, skipping the process of making butter from milk.  In this Commercial ghee production, the cream is separated from the milk, and good-quality ghee is prepared from this milk cream. There are more than 4 Commercial ghee production options besides traditional or desi ghee-making processes. These four Professional ghee manufacturing processes are: Direct Cream Method The Direct cream method is a commercial ghee manufacturing process. Here, a kettle is used to boil the milk cream. These kettles are mostly made of steel, and they come with a steam-heated jacket. They are fixed with an agitator, a steam regulator valve, pressure and temperature gauging devices, and a portable, hollow, stainless steel tube with a central boring draining out the contents. The manufacturer stops applying heat when brownish froth is seen on the surface, and the color of the ghee residue becomes golden yellow or light brown. However, this commercial ghee manufacturing process has a few drawbacks. One is its long cooking time; secondly, the serum solid in the cream may add a caramelized flavor to the ghee produced.  If it is bulk manufacturing, then only this Professional ghee manufacturing becomes cost-efficient. The ghee manufacturing process is essential as the method decides the ghee quality. However, raw materials’ quality and proper time management of the slow boiling play a critical role here. Grass-fed cow milk is a better raw material than grain-fed cow milk for producing good quality cow ghee, which is why grass-fed cow ghee enjoys higher demand in the consumer market. Advantage: The manufacturer is not obligated to produce butter before the ghee production in this manufacturing process. Creamery Butter Method This is the standard ghee production method applied in most organized dairies as a ghee manufacturing process. This process uses unsalted or white milk butter as the raw material. Butter blocks are melted in a butter melter from 60°C to 80°C. Melted butter is pumped into the ghee boiler, where final heating is done by using steam as the heating medium. Now, the steam pressure is increased to raise the temperature. A certain amount of scum is formed on the top of the product’s surface, which is removed frequently with the help of a holed scoop. At this stage … Continue reading Ghee Manufacturing Process: The Key to Perfection