Ghee, or Clarified/Purified Butter

Ghee butter is very popular in the Indian Ayurvedic cuisine but lately it's one of the most wanted products in organics shops and not only. This is because it has a wonderful taste and a higher smoking point, which allows frying food in a healthy way. Actually, clarified butter is 99-100% clear fat and it doesn't contain milk protein thanks to the specific method of preparation, so it can be consumed as well by people with lactose intolerance.

Ingredients
Butter
500 g
it's better to use butter with a higher percentage of fat, like 80-82% in order to obtain ghee
Step by step
Step 1

Place 500g butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. 

Ghee, or Clarified/Purified Butter - Step 1
Step 2

Melt the butter over medium heat.

Ghee, or Clarified/Purified Butter - Step 2
Step 3

As the butter melts and it starts to simmer, a layer of foam will rise to surface. I don't remove it, it will boil off anyway, as you can see below. 

Now turn the heat down and let simmer for 15-20 minutes - but don't forget about it and keep an eye on it - the time needed depends on the quality of the butter.

Ghee, or Clarified/Purified Butter - Step 3
Step 4

After 10 minutes, my butter looks like this. 

I stir all the time while it simmers.

Ghee, or Clarified/Purified Butter - Step 4
Step 5

After 20 minutes, you can notice that the foam has disappeared and it's turning into some sort of big white flakes - it's the milk proteins which become solid during the simmering process.

Ghee, or Clarified/Purified Butter - Step 5
Step 6

When these flakes turn from white to yellow, ghee is ready. Now quickly turn off the heat, it's important to pay attention here and catch this right moment, we don't want the burning process to start. 

Ghee, or Clarified/Purified Butter - Step 6
Step 7

Let cool in the saucepan for 5-10 minutes, all the solids will settle to the bottom.

Ghee, or Clarified/Purified Butter - Step 7
Step 8

Now carefully drain ghee through a fine sieve or a piece of clean gauze in the jar in which you will store it.

Ghee, or Clarified/Purified Butter - Step 8
Step 9

Better to leave the yellow solids in the saucepan so that ghee will be as clear as possible.

Ghee, or Clarified/Purified Butter - Step 9
Step 10

Out of 500g butter I obtained exactly 500ml ghee butter, but I didn't weigh it, so I'm not able to say the amount in grams :)

Ghee, or Clarified/Purified Butter - Step 10
Step 11

Store the butter in glass jars with lids at room temperature. It is said that clarified butter becomes better in quality if not stored in cool places.  

If you made the boiling and the separation processes correctly, the ghee butter cannot spoil anymore, as it is just clear fat.

Ghee, or Clarified/Purified Butter - Step 11
Step 12

Even if stored at room temperature, ghee butter will become solid, it's only normal. 

Now you can use it for anything you cook - vegetables, meat, fish, desserts etc. 

Enjoy!

Ghee, or Clarified/Purified Butter - Step 12
Quantity: 500 ml (1 borcan de 500ml)
Prep time:
30 min
Difficulty: easy
Ready in: 5 min