IPS Event Planners: How to make homemade GHEE

via pinterest

A lot of people ask me.. what do you use instead of butter... (my son is also casein free due to allergies). Sometimes I use a buttery spread..until I discover GHEE!! The first time I saw this in a naturist store, I had no idea what GHEE was and didn't know I can prepare it at home. So finally I decided to make ghee at home using unsalted organic butter. I somehow feel it is better than the store bought ghee and cheaper. So this is what I have been doing for last many monthsThe well-prepared ghee should not contain any casein or lactose. But it may contain traces of both casein and lactose. Also many people with lactose intolerance or casein consumed ghee without problems.
As always recommend checking with your doctor and follow their recommendations.But what is GHEE exactly?

Ghee is a Sanskrit word for a clarified butter used primarily in Indian cuisine. Because the preparation of ghee involves heat, it has a distinctive toasted flavor, often described as nutty. Before the advent of commercial vegetable oils, ghee was widely used for deep frying. Unlike other butter-based products, ghee has a high smoking point and can be stored without refrigeration for weeks. As long as ghee is stored in air-tight containers, it does not spoil easily.

I was thinking of this post for a long time now, because of the increasing number of cooking newbies who read my gluten free recipes.

- Heat 8 sticks of butter in a clean heavy bottomed pan. When all the butter is melted, keep the heat on medium-low. Let it boil.

Keep the stove on low heat even after all the butter has melted and it begins to simmer and slightly boil.

Wait for the simmering butter to begin to separate. The top layer will be foam, carefully with a spoon start taking out this foam which is the butter's water content; the second layer will be the actual butter liquid, and the bottom layer will be the milk solid (see the picture)

Remove from the heat immediately once the milk solids are in the botton, you can wait until is a little bit brownish and the butter has . become a clear, golden hue.

via Pinterest

When your ghee is cooled a bit, carefully pour ghee into clean glass jars (I used a fine mesh to prevents the sticky milk solids from getting into the ghee) and allow to cool completely. Your cooled ghee should be a solid at room temperature and will keep for ages in the pantry