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Last Updated on May 10, 2022
Wondering what is ghee and how to make ghee? You’re at the right place! This recipe will show you the process of one of my favorite recipes, ever!
I love Ghee almost as much as I love cheese. I love how easy it is to make Ghee and well, I like to make it fast. First, wait, let me back up.
What is ghee? It’s clarified butter so you are removing the milk solids and water from the butter leaving you with pure butter oil.
It has an incredibly long shelf life and needs no refrigeration.
Simply put it’s awesome to cook with and most of the time when you see it, it’s a golden blond color. Myself, I like it more of a caramel color as the hazelnut finishes are stronger and more developed.
Now, the first time I made it this way, I wasn’t paying attention and thought I had made a major mistake. However, when I tasted it, I realized that I love it even more this way. It is not for everyone though, so I’ve listed when to pull it if you don’t want yours as browned.
You’ll need 1 pound of butter and either a coffee filter, paper towel, or cheesecloth. Using cheesecloth will be much quicker than a coffee filter.
Also, I’ve gotten feedback that some people have had issues with their coffee filter taking FOREVER to strain so just USE Cheesecloth.
Is ghee more healthy than butter?
It’s actually pretty comparable to butter to make ghee. Homemade ghee has a high smoke point than butter does due to the lack of milk. And since it’s such a simple recipe, you’ll love being able to have another flavor to cook with as well.
Which butter is best for making ghee?
To make this recipe, you’re going to want to use grass fed unsalted butter. This is what I’ve always used and it’s one of the best ways to make this ghee recipe.
How long does Ghee last?
This all just depends on how you store the homemade ghee. This is one of those recipes that you can store out of the fridge for a period of time, typically up to 3 months once opened, but any longer than that and you’re going to want to store it in the fridge.
Do you have to refrigerate ghee?
As mentioned above, one of the benefits of how to make ghee and why to make ghee is that it doesn’t have to be stored in the fridge. If you’re going to have it for longer than 3 months of time, room temperature should be changed at that point to keeping it in the fridge.
What are the health benefits of ghee?
There are so many health benefits to making ghee! If you have dairy sensitivities, homemade ghee can be a great way to still enjoy the taste and flavor without the other flavors you don’t care for.
Who should not eat ghee?
If you’re trying to cut back on your fat intake, ghee isn’t going to be a great recipe for you to eat. And if you’re trying to limit your milk solids and milk proteins, you might want to second guess it as well. Even though this ghee recipe is fast and easy and delicious, making ghee means that you need to understand that you’re going to be consuming as much good fat and calories as if you were eating butter. This knowledge is helpful in being able to decide if ghee made at home is right for you.
What ingredients are in ghee?
When you’re learning how to make ghee, you need to make certain that you have all the proper ingredients and supplies on hand.
These include:
- heavy bottomed pan
- salted butter/unsalted butter/ organic butter
See how simple it is to make ghee? Now that you know what you need to make homemade ghee, it’s time to talk about the actual process of how to make ghee.
What is the process of making ghee?
Learning how to make ghee isn’t hard at all! In fact, once you make ghee just one time, you’re going to realize that using butter this way and following this simple recipe is going to be one of your new favorite good fat as well.
Prep time is minimal and just be certain to let it cool as well. The flavors really come out once it’s taken off the heat and the clarified butter starts to cool.
How To Make Ghee
Place your butter in a pan over medium heat. Now, I’m cooking this rather high because I want to be done. You could put this in a crock pot for 3 -4 hours if you want. Now cooking this fast means no walking away. No chatting on Facebook or Twitter. You have to pay attention the entire time.
The butter will be very active and bubbly. This was 5 minutes into cooking.
Notice how the milk solids have formed a ring around the oil. All the solids are now at the top. If you want your ghee to have that glorious blond color, it’s done. It’s been 10 minutes of cooking time. If you’re still not sure it’s the right time look at the photo below. If you see this expansion, it’s done, and pull it immediately.
Now, if you want it darker, the mix is going to expand a bit and it will be much quieter. Let it cook for 3 more minutes and pull it from the stove. Pay attention to the cook time in the recipe as it’s important to follow.
After the foam settles you’ll have this. A rich, caramel ghee. (Look at that, you’ve made ghee!)
Now comes the fun time. Pour the ghee through a paper towel or cheesecloth into a pint jar/glass jar and seal.
What can you do with the leftover milk solids?
You can save and use them for other recipes or cooking needs. If you’re able to have dairy, use the milk solids and milk fats that are left about you melt the butter .
What does ghee taste like?
Many people think that it has a nutty flavor but it’s going to taste the same as butter as well. Since you can store it at room temperature in a glass jar, it really does stay true to that butter flavor and taste. As long as you use unsalted butter, it won’t have a salty finish. Like I mentioned earlier, I like to use grass fed organic butter because I do like that nutty flavor that it tends to have.
What type of cooking skills do you have to have to make ghee?
When you’re learning how to make ghee, it’s not a hard recipe but so many people think that it is. Just pay attention to the cook time, the heat level (whether that be medium low heat or high heat to get to the clarified butter point.
How do you use ghee to cook?
You can use ghee in a wide variety of recipes. It’s a good substitute for butter and most people who use it are a huge fan. It has a high smoke point and it’s a good replacement for other cooking oil options. I like to use it in my wok cooking recipes as well as when I’m need something that can withstand high heat.
Tips for Making Ghee Recipes
Even though prep time is minimal, keep in mind that your total time cooking the ghee will vary. The total time will just depend on how fast you melt the butter and separate the butterfat as well.
Now that you know how to make ghee, there’s no reason that you can’t make this ghee recipe over and over again! It’s fun, has great health benefits, and has so many awesome flavors, too!
I can assure you that this is so much better than anything store bought! It’s so easy to make clarified butter at home!
I’ve seen this used on cooking shows all the time but I had no idea how they made It or if I could buy it. This LOOKS super simple (although I’m sure it’s not for a first timer) but honestly, I don’t actually know of any recipe that calls for it.
Jennifer, you can use it in place of any oil required in any recipe 🙂
I love your site and use your recipes regularly. I appreciate pictures of the ghee making method and the lighter and darker alternatives.
The only negative I have when I’m at your site…that blasted rectangular sharing bar that floats in the middle of the page. It blocks the top half of my screen from reading. Does the Pin It-Tweet-It-Google+ It-Stumble Upon It bar have to be slap dab in the middle of the page? Can I move it? It’s as annoying as flies in the kitchen when I’m trying to cook. I just want the dang thing gone.
Hrmm. . . I’m trying to figure out the best share button for my site so thanks for letting me know that it’s blocking content! Thanks for the comment Felicia!
I have never heard of Ghee before. So do you just use it for everything that calls for butter?
Yep, anything thing that calls for butter, olive oil, etc 🙂
oh wow.. I didn’t know we can make ghee at home!!
Thank you so much! Maybe the deep dark honey colored ghee I made for the first time wasn’t ruined! OMG! I threw it away thinking I had blown it…thought it was burned! Next time I will start with the blonde version and then work up to darker shades in subsequent versions.
Hi Deidre! I was seriously thinking about you hun so I’m glad you commented. Yep, it probably wasn’t burnt. Now you can burn Ghee and trust me, it will taste terrible too. If it’s brown and it still tastes like hazelnut it’s fine!
I’ve heard of it, but never seen instructions for making it.
If I substitute it for butter or oil, do I use the exact same amount?
yep 🙂
Thank you for posting this ‘how to’ tutorial. I would love to try making this.
I had no idea it was so easy to make. That settles it. I am doing this. Thanks!
I love ghee, although I don’t usually brown it as much.
I fell in love with it when living in Leeds (UK) – it is used a LOT in Indian food, we livied in a predominantly Indian/Pakistani area of the city and ate a LOT of curries!
Unfortunately it is all but impossible to by real grass-fed butter in Canada (even the Kerrygold sold here is not grassfed – not sure why, I suspect for political reasons, the same as it is impossible to buy raw dairy in any form). So I just use the best quality organic butter I can find when I make it.
Wow, that’s crazy. I had no idea that Canada was so restrictive in terms of buying grass-fed dairy or raw. Lord, my husband would cry a river (or just plain move) if he couldn’t get his raw milk.
Once you make the ghee does it have to be refrigerated?
Nope, you can leave it out on your counter 🙂
Does it go bad? Also I strained mine more than once…because it wouldn’t go through the coffee filter that I had.. and so if the milk fat gets in there is that ok?
The milk solids will make it go bad so you don’t want them in there. Cheesecloth works great and so do paper towels.
I just tried to make this twice and both times I got the active bubbles, then the solid came to the top but then it didn’t foam again it just started to burn 🙁 Am I doing something wrong? This was happening at the 5 minutes mark…
You might want to cook this on lower heat Sarah. It sound like your heat is too high so it’s skipping a step.
Kelly,
You mentioned doing this in a slow cooker. Would it be on low & how long should I let it go? Thanks for posting this, I am so excited to try it!
I would make it when you are home hun. You would cook it on high for 2.5 hours and low for 1.5 hours.
None of the Ghee recipes indicate if you should stir the butter as it cooks. Can you answer this? Also, mine always turns light as it cools in the cabinet. Is that still ghee???
I never stir it and yes, that’s ghee hun
Hi Kelly, this looks easy and I’ve love to try it. Can I use salted organic butter?
Thanks
yes you can hun.
Hello, this looks like just what I need! Would a nut milk bag work for the straining, do you think?