Grass-fed ghee – 10 amazing facts

Abstract:

Ghee or clarified butter is a traditional fat-rich dairy product produced by simmering butterfat. It is excellent for cooking, baking, sauteing, seasoning or for direct consumption in everyday diet.

The key concept of Ghee becoming Grass-fed is that it is manufactured from grass-fed milk.

Grass-fed milk is produced from the pasture grazed cows which have spent around 90% of their time in the open pasture and nearly 85% of their diet came from the grass, grass silage, hay, and forage crops.

Grass-fed ghee has several nutritional benefits over conventional ghee, like enhanced fatty acids profile, increased beta-carotene level, and excellent sensory properties. It is free of potentially unhealthy additives, preservatives, GMO’s, or rBST.

New Zealand has a year-old tradition of a pasture-based dairying system. Feeding cost is a major determinant of the commercial viability of any dairy farm business. While it is technically permissible to include grain as “supplementary feed” in New Zealand, it is impractical and not used due to the high availability of grass.

The conducive natural environment, climate, ample rainfall, year-round sunshine, and geographical location of New Zealand facilitated abundant grass production. These make the dairying in New Zealand quintessentially ‘grass fed’ and at the same time, the products of Milkio’s also.

Keeping the growing customer’s demand for grass-fed dairy in mind Milkio manufactures Grass-fed Ghee prepared from 100% New Zealand Grass-fed Cow milk butter/ cultured butter. Milkio, being a secondary manufacturer, procures grass-fed butter from recognized suppliers within New Zealand and continuously supplies quality products to consumers.

This healthy fat is absolutely natural and free from rBST, antibiotics, GMOs, etc. The presence of beta carotene in high concentration further elevates the sensory attribute by gives a natural golden yellow color to grass-fed ghee. Beta -carotene is the precursor to vitamin A, an essential vitamin for cellular health and vision.

The definition of Grass-fed or Pasture fed as per Animal Status Declaration requirements, New Zealand states that animals rose under normal New Zealand conditions with year-round access to fresh green grass or conserved grass or rangeland pasture can be classified as “Grass-fed”.

Therefore and as the term indicates, grass-fed dairy products are those derived from cattle raised on predominantly pasture grazed methods. Several current studies on grass feeding confirmed elevated nutritional and sensorial properties of milk and milk products coming from grass-fed cows.

The emerging concept of grass-fed Ghee gained a tremendous population among the customers who believe these products as healthier, natural, and premium.

Considering the premium price structure due to growing consumer’s faith in grass-fed Ghee, many leading dairy brands are now launching grass-fed Ghee products as a premium product category in the global market.

Being based in New Zealand, where grass-fed dairying is a tradition and getting practiced for 150 years, Milkio produces ghee with the best quality grass-fed butter of grass-fed cow’s milk procured from NZ only.

Difference between Grass-fed ghee and Organic Ghee and where they match:

Customers generally find three terms related to ghee while browsing on the internet. They are produced grass-fed organic and organic grass-fed.

So how these terms differ from each other?
Grass-fed milk is produced from cows only fed grass and forage.

They are not given grain, grain products, or corn silage.

Organic milk is produced from cows only fed organically grown grass, forage, hay, or feed.

Organic milk can also be called grass-fed if it adheres to the standards of both practices.

Both grass-fed and organic cows eat much more grass which results in increased omega-3 content and making their omega-6 to omega-3 ratio lower.

A lower omega-6 to omega-3 ratio is associated with anti-inflammatory properties. Both grass-fed and organic milk may also have higher levels of fat-soluble vitamins and antioxidants.

Therefore, both grass-fed and organic ghee (organic grass-fed too) shows an elevated fatty acids profile and the higher concentration of beta carotene as compared to conventional ghee.

Milkio Procures Raw Materials (Grass-fed Butter) from Traditional Pasture Based Dairying in New Zealand:

Milkio procures raw materials for manufacturing Ghee from New Zealand. The country has a tradition of grass-fed dairying for a long.

New Zealand has a temperate climate along with optimum rainfall, fertile soil, and plenty of sunshine which supports excellent growth of high-quality grass on the extensive pasture lands throughout most of the year and provides cost-effective and high-quality feed source to the dairy animals, and deliver high-quality dairy products with natural goodness.

Milkio procures raw materials for manufacturing Ghee from New Zealand. The country has a tradition of grass-fed dairying for a long.

New Zealand has a temperate climate along with optimum rainfall, fertile soil, and plenty of sunshine which supports excellent growth of high-quality grass on the extensive pasture lands throughout most of the year and provides cost-effective and high-quality feed source to the dairy animals, and deliver high-quality dairy products with natural goodness.

In New Zealand, it is classified as grass-fed when an average of 85% of dairy cows’ ratio comprises grass, grass silage, and forage crops (mainly legumes and Brassicas). The dairy cows mandatorily spending no less than 90% of their time (excluding milking time) on pasture.

Cows graze in the lush green pasture for most of the days during a year and thereby enjoy a pleasant and stress-free life in their natural habitat. As a result, milk derived from grass-fed cows shows a significantly higher number of nutritional attributes containing a higher percentage of omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, and macro and micronutrients.

These attributes give New Zealand’s grass-fed dairy products a unique selling point of becoming more “healthier” & “natural” and premium in the international market. Several studies have verified the possible positive impact of pasture feeding on the nutrient profile of milk fat.

It increases the content of some beneficial nutrients such as,

• Omega-3 fatty acids
• Vaccenic acid,
• Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA),

While reducing,

• Levels of Omega-6 fatty acids
• Palmitic acid

Consumers usually consider grass-fed farming as healthy, animal friendly, and an environmentally sustainable milk production method. Moreover, the enriched nutritional profile of “Grass-fed” milk produces more “healthy” dairy products.

While it is technically permissible to include grain in “supplementary feed” in New Zealand (“pasture-fed,” note 3, ASD guidelines, NZ), it is impractical and not used because the grass is plentiful and convenient in New Zealand. Grain, on the other hand, is six to eight times expensive than grass and unsubsidized.

Pasture grazing in grass-fed dairying is the best and cheapest way to accrue maximum nutrition from healthy green fresh grass for the dairy animals as the cost of grain/cereal-based feeds is high in New Zealand.

The grass feeding technique helps the country’s farmers remain in the dairy business for generations with sustainable economic return and makes the dairying in New Zealand quintessentially ‘grass fed’ and at the same time the products of Milkio’s also.

Advantages of Grass-fed Ghee:

As grass-feeding positively impacts the fatty acid profile of milk, cow ghee, being the purest form of milk fat, entraps all the goodness in it. The beneficial components are as follows:

CLA (conjugated linoleic acid): Ghee, produced from fresh-pasture fed cows has,

• Increased CLA concentration (2-3 times higher than grain-fed milk)
• Good health effect of CLA includes antiatherogenic effect, altered nutrient partitioning, improved lipid metabolism, antidiabetic action (type II diabetes), immunity enhancement and improved bone mineralization.

Omega-3 Fatty Acids: It is a metabolic biomarker derived from grass-fed animal metabolism. Ghee, produced from fresh-pasture fed cows has,

• A higher concentration of Omega-3s (in the form of alpha-linolenic acid, or ALA).
• A low ratio of Omega-6s to Omega-3s in grass-fed ghee enhances the benefits of Omega-3s much more balanced overall fat composition in terms of health risks and benefits good source of Vitamin A

Butyric acids: Grass feeding also increases the butyric acid and content in ghee. It is an essential short-chain fatty acid.  It helps in digestion and contributes to a healthy digestive tract.

Beta-Carotene: It is a Plant biomarker and not synthesized by animals. Therefore, the occurrence of Beta-Carotene in Ghee is quintessentially due to fresh green feed. Carotenoid pigments and terpenes metabolites are examples of such compounds stored in the animal’s fat after absorption and derived in milk.

• Pure ghee, produced from fresh-pasture-fed cows, has a higher concentration of β-carotene than grains and fermented feeds.
• The main reason behind the low levels of β-carotene is heat damage and breakdown during the storage of grains and fermented feeds.
• Human bodies use β-carotene to make vitamin A, which is essential for retina function, healthy skin, and infection prevention. β-carotene also works as an antioxidant.

Milkio Grass-fed Ghee clarified butter: A Premium quality product:

Pasture feeding supports the very high competitive position of New Zealand in the world’s dairy market.

The overall composition and quality of milk derived from cows fed pasture-based diets have higher fat, protein, and β-carotene content with improved nutritional status.

Annually, New Zealand cows spend at least 2,000 hours in sunshine on pasture, resulting in higher levels of Vitamin D in milk and milk products.

The β-carotene content of grass-fed milk-fat ranges from 5.0 to 14.0 mg/kg (ppm).

Milkio grass-fed ghee contains 5.35 mg to 7mg β-carotene per kg ghee.

Pasture feeding is repeatedly recognized as an enhancer of various beneficial nutrients, including Vaccenic acid, CLA, Β-carotene, and Alpha-linolenic acid, which undoubtedly elevate the nutritional composition and the sensory characteristics of grass-fed milk and milk products.

Pasture-derived dairy products are famous as “Grass-fed” dairy products and considered as more “healthy,” “natural,” and obviously “premium” by the customers of the world market, which eventually results from an excellent economic return to the dairy practitioner.

This encourages NZ’s farmers to stick to the traditional grass-fed system by ensuring the premium price of their milk.

Being a secondary manufacturer, Milkio ensures grass-fed ghee’s goodness becomes more “healthier and natural” by producing grass-fed ghee from premium quality grass-fed butter procured from New Zealand only.

Milkio grass fed ghee is “100% New Zealand”. The natural practice of grass fed dairying makes New Zealand’s dairy products quintessentially “grass fed”.

The flavour of grass fed dairy products appears to be affected by the unique characteristics of the climate, soils and forages of the places from which they originate. These unique characteristics are called terroir.

“Terroir”, sum of the NZ’s ambience and traditional dairying that influence the flavours and qualities of dairy brings the concept of “100% New Zealand’s” milk and milk products which is placed as finest in world market since long.

rBST free: 

Milkio Grass fed Ghee is rBST free. Recombinant bovine somatotropin (rBST), is an artificial growth hormone that increases milk production. The effects of rBST are still not well defined and claimed to be mediated by the insulin-like growth factor (IGF) system.

Due to its alleged effect on human health, consumption of milk from rBST treated cows is not preferred by masses.  Grass fed dairying is completely free from rBST as most of the feeding happening in pasture with very little need based supplementation.

Nutritional Outlook:

Milkio grass fed ghee is the fatty product derived exclusively from highly nutritious premium quality grass fed butter or cultured grass fed butter of New Zealand cow’s milk. The product is produced following the method of traditional ghee and thereby ensure extremely  rich ghee aroma and microbial safety. It is free from any added preservatives, colour, flavour or other additives. It is suitable for keto diet and paleo friendly diet.

It is free from animal body fat, vegetable oil (coconut oil, olive oil) and fat, mineral oil and genetically modified substances. It has pleasant taste and rich flavor. The extremely low water content (not more than 0.3%) of Milkio grass fed ghee do not allow microbial growth and offer longer shelf life (18 months).

Intense care is taken throughout the entire process to ensure the highest quality product is produced. The collection of grass fed butter,  ghee making process and packaging is carefully monitored and controlled to ensure product safety, consistency and quality of being grass fed. We meet Codex Standards 280-1973 for Ghee.

Milkio Grass fed Ghee, with a higher smoke point is a good alternative to cooking oil or butter. It is extremely suitable for frying, backing and sautéing of various cuisines.

Milkio ghee contains all the advantages of grass fed dairying, such as healthier fat composition (eg: butyric acids), CLAs, Omega 3 fatty acids and high beta carotene content. Its golden yellow colour is very much natural and due to high beta carotene content of raw materials. The controlled processing stages preserve the grass fed goodness of raw material and transfer it directly to the final product.

The product is absolutely free of rBST, antibiotics and GMOs.

Milkio is secondary producer and does not own dairy farms. Pasteurized grass fed butter is the raw material and procured from the grass fed dairy farms/ suppliers of New Zealand only. Milkio grass fed ghee carries premium nutritional qualities (elevated Fatty Acids Profile) and sensory attributes which are recognized as grass fed goodness.

Epilogue:

With the rising purchase power and education, concern over healthy and wholesome food is growing. They want to know where the product is manufactured, how the raw materials are sourced and what are the safety measures and standards.

Further, consumers are inclining towards premium quality products ranging from organic to grass fed, creating a market for this unique genre of products. New Zealand, being traditionally grass fed dairying system and world reputed dairy producer and exporter of dairy products across the globe has immense potential to cater the demand of grass fed dairy products across the world.

Based in New Zealand, Milkio is carrying the same chore essence in their business. We are committed to provide grass fed ghee to our customers maintaining the complete essence of traditional New Zealand dairying.

We are also committed to bring all the freshness and health benefits of the grass fed to its fullest level to our valued customer.

In the era of grass fed products, Milkio wants to secure a place through their premium quality “Grass fed” ghee.