Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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Been making homemade ghee a lot lately. So excited about this

For those of you not familiar with ghee, it is essentially clarified butter (butter with the milk solids lactose & casein removed). The end result is a golden yellowy/orangish butter oil that is extremely high heat stable (excellent for cooking and even frying). I was going to purchase a batch from Pure Indian Foods, but instead decided to just venture out and make my own. It was SUPER easy and a total success on the first try.

melted 2 lbs of pasture butter in a sauce pen on med-low heat
skimmed off and removed the gathering milk solids from the top of the melted butter with a spoon (as it was simmering)
allow it to simmer and crackle on low for about 10 minutes and remove heat
let it cool a bit. **see note
strained with cheesecloth over a strainer into a bowl.
transferred from bowl into jar with a seal tight lid

Bam! perfect crystal clear grass fed ghee. Soooo delicious and it's a huge savings to spend the 20 minutes to make it yourself.

**the solids at the bottom of the pan should be 'slightly' cooked (not burnt, but light brownish). this timing is essential for the best ghee flavor. if they are still white, your 'ghee' will be more like clarified butter, very yellow. if they are black, you burned them and it may make the ghee also taste burnt.

So here's my questions to all... Anyone else ever made ghee? and if so, did you use/eat the milk solids for anything or did you just toss em out? I took a bite and man it was extremely salty!

Picture Storyboard:

Cold Humboldt Pasture Butter - (btw... so far, Organic Valley butter made the best tasting ghee) alt text

Milk solids starting to separate -------------------------------------------Still bubbling and popping alt text

Foamy milk solids removed -------------------------------------------No more bubbling - it's DONE! alt text

Cheesecloth, Strainer, Glass Jar/Bowl -------------------Pour to strain. Check out the solids in the pan. alt text

Grass Fed Ghee Liquid (melted) -------------------------------Grass Fed Ghee Solid (room temp) alt text

----------------------------------------------- Crystal Clear Grass Fed Ghee!!! -------------------------------------------- alt text

edited Mar 26 2011 at 3:49

asked Feb 23 2011 at 17:14

Jack Kronk
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Thanks for this Jack! I'm excited to try my hand at making ghee! – gilliebean♦ Mar 26 2011 at 6:57

Cool set of pics. – Matt Sep 25 2011 at 0:12

Wow, I shoulda looked here before I bought a jar of ghee...I haven't opened it yet, wonder if I can return it...? I'm going to try this. It's just me so I can make a small batch.... – HLH Nov 15 2011 at 1:20

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HLH. It's so easy it's ridiculous. You just throw the butter in the pan, turn it on it's lowest possible setting and let it sit for like 35-40 minutes. skim the top foam and make sure the bottom solids are brownish. let it cool for a few minutes and strain into jar. i ran out of cheesecloth so I used a paper towel. It worked fine. I'm laying off ghee for now because of some personal issues, but I still think it's a good fat for most people. – Jack Kronk Nov 15 2011 at 4:55

TY. Working from home today so I will give it a go! – HLH Nov 15 2011 at 12:03

Resurgent · Answer 1 · 2011-02-23 17:42:39Z UTC

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1) Use unsalted pastured butter to make regular ghee, salted butter will leave a salty taste.

2) The light brown fried milk solids - They are a wonderful treat if you eat dairy. Mixed with a spoon of honey, they make a great dessert, full of nutrients and very calorie dense.

answered Feb 23 2011 at 17:42

Resurgent
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	personally, salted vs unsalted has not made a bit of difference. infact, i just made ghee with salted butter a couple days ago, and i think it was my best batch yet. it has no salty flavor, just smooth and buttery. – Jack Kronk Feb 23 2011 at 20:02
	The salt is supposed to go out with the milk solids. – James Mar 26 2011 at 4:36

Jay · Answer 2 · 2011-02-23 21:54:33Z UTC

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I'd add some rosemary, oregano, and/or turmeric before you boil the butter to prevent the formation of oxidize cholesterol.

answered Feb 23 2011 at 21:54

Jay
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hmmm. the jury's still out on this one for me. are you saying that eating ghee has been bad all these years due to cholesterol oxidation? i understand the concept and the possibility of it, but I definitely am not ready to just accept that eating a cooked egg yolk or heated butter is damaging to one's health. i'd really like to hear chris masterjohn's take on this. – Jack Kronk Feb 23 2011 at 22:14

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I think most people, including CM, think cholesterol oxides are bad. He probably think the good that comes from eating ghee and eggs outweighs that bad, and so do I. But, that doens't mean you can't get the good while avoiding the bad, does it? Ghee would taste rather delicious I think if cooked the way I suggested and the cholesterol oxides would be dramatically reduced. – Jay Feb 24 2011 at 14:10

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In what amounts of the above recommended herbs and spices would be sufficient enough to prevent oxidation? – Todd Mar 9 2011 at 16:48

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2887943 "Substantial amounts of cholesterol oxides were found in ghee (12.3% of sterols), but not in fresh butter…" Ok, now the question is how much of the essential oils are necessary to reduce this. I'm afraid it's probably quite a bit, and who wants to eat the oxidized essential oils? – Matt Sep 25 2011 at 0:10

jamie · Answer 3 · 2011-09-24 23:46:08Z UTC

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One of the best toppings for steamed vegetables is browned butter. Slightly burned is even good. I'll bet the solids would be great sprinkled on top of steamed broccoli, green beans or even peas

answered Sep 24 2011 at 23:46

jamie
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matthew · Answer 4 · 2012-08-19 19:20:43Z UTC

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I added the milk solids to mashed potatos first time today and the result was excellent.

answered Aug 19 at 19:20

matthew
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Helen · Answer 5 · 2011-02-23 17:27:12Z UTC

I made ghee when I saw the price of the pre-made stuff, and yes, it was super-easy, but no, I didn't eat the milk solids. Btw, although I used a burner set on the very lowest setting, I know people who have made ghee in a crockpot with great success.

Ikco · Answer 6 · 2011-02-23 21:22:12Z UTC

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I was actually wondering the same thing since I just made ghee last weekend. I presume the milk solids are just casein/lactose so I'll throw them out although mixing some heavy cream, cinnamon and x never makes a bad dish :D

answered Feb 23 2011 at 21:22

Ikco
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	yah i guess if you are not allergic to lactose/casein then it should be ok to eat, right? no diffferent than adding a big spoonful of butter into a dish, which I do all the time. the solids that I skimmed off the top and discarded into a bowl smelled like delicious cheese. that's why I ask. – Jack Kronk Feb 23 2011 at 21:25
	Yeah. It's not like you'll be eating 100g every time. Give it a go why not. – Ikco Feb 24 2011 at 11:42

dubpluris · Answer 7 · 2011-09-25 01:43:05Z UTC

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Awesome. Thanks so much.

answered Sep 25 2011 at 1:43

dubpluris
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Jeanne · Answer 8 · 2012-08-22 16:58:46Z UTC

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I use the solids for my pilafs instead of oil or butter. You don't need to add salt obviously and the slightly brown solids give the pilaf beautiful color and super taste.

answered Aug 22 at 16:58

Jeanne
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Homemade Ghee - Did you use the milk solids? (Pics Incl)

8 Answers