@ Sarbar–What’s up with ghee?

Ghee has been cooked until all the water is gone, so it's more concentrated butterfat than butter itself.

I do carry a small container of ghee when I hike sometimes – use it on my morning bread. Usually I stick to olive oil though which I find more versatile.

Gary, it is fairly straightforward to make it yourself from regular butter if you have he time or inclination. It might be educational to do at least once as well – you could check out the taste difference before and after without wondering how much of it was due to the difference in the butter they used in the store bought stuff, or how long it sat on the shelf. It would likely save you money as well.

Basically it is just a substitute for oil, so unless you like the taste better than your favorite oil, or want that specific taste for Indian or other dishes traditionally made with it, there really isn't much of point. You can use and store it pretty much the same as oil.

I don't know about how much water is removed as when I have made it the total volume does not appear to go down much, but I do know that Ghee is butter with the SOLIDS (curds) removed (they will precipitate out when heated), as you can verify by doing a batch for yourself, although I understand that connoisseurs may say that there are more sophisticated techniques used for "real" ghee to keep more flavor, etc. The advantage is not only the decreased spoilage propensity, but the heat you can use with Ghee. Ghee will not burn at higher temps the way butter will.

If the solids have less calories per oz than the ghee you have anpther straightforward explanation of the increase in cal/oz.

Thanks, guys–that clears up a few things for me. Now I need to google curds, and see what they are for sure. Sounds like they're lower calorie, allow the butter to burn more easily, but they impart a certain taste.

I think the one non-versatile quality of olive oil is that it's a mess to put on bread. So if my basement quits seeping ground water and I can get up to Yellowstone, I'll be Gary, the ghee-grubbing geyser geezer guy.

Yeah, the curds also show up in Indian cooking as tasty morsels – like in Saag Paneer. Yum.

I googled ghee, and I think I have things figured out now, sort of. The act of clarifying the butter removes the proteins (curds and whey, little Miss Muffet). So you get those 4 calories/gram guys out of there, which pretty much leaves only the 9 cal/gram fats. Hence the increase in overall calories per ounce for the final product. Also, the video I watched showed the curd protein rising to the top to be collected and discarded, whereas the whey went to the bottom of the pan, where it would easily burn if not scraped off and discarded. The whey is the reason butter can't withstand high heat like the final ghee product can.

If I'd known that I would get so many informational jollies from a jar of ghee, I would have bought one a long time ago.

One it is delicious ;-) Two it is very, very shelf stable – a year opened unrefrigrated!

Use it to cook in, add to meals, on bread…all great!

That's the definitive statement, Sarah. Thanks! Done.

I have to admit that while i've experimented with ghee i've been generally more satisfied with organic coconut oil as a shelf stable high temperature cooking oil. Unless I need the butter flavor for a specific dish ghee is a pain to make myself and if I'm buying a jar the coconut oil is easier to work with in my experience. The ghee we've used was like using red clay unless you heated it up slightly in the jar.

Oh, and I forgot to add that I have traditionally truly disliked the taste of coconut! But the oil, for some reason, imparts a flavor but it is not that coconut-y it that makes any sense.

However, I really converted when I popped my popcorn (my one achilles heel – love popcorn but I do use organic kernels and pop them myself) in coconut oil – delish. There's a reason movie theaters used to use coconut oil – high temps and yummy – before we got afraid of fats in the US (and coincidentally seem to have gotten fatter)…

I use ghee for additional calories on longer trips. I love butter! !
The other day I fried some corn tortillas for taco shells and I did some in coconut oil to test the flavor to see if I'd enjoy it in the backcountry. It was surprisingly not coconut-y. I was plenty surprised.

Coconut oil, especially virgin, is wonderful. Only downside is it gets liquid if it is above 70'ish.

Not sure if this is common in other areas, but i've observed often enough that where there is a Whole foods, there usually is a Trader Joe's nearby as well.

T.J.'s also carries Ghee, and i'm assuming that since they are cheaper in most things, it most likely will be cheaper there than at Whole paycheck barring sales at the latter.

However, this thread has my curiosity piqued in making some myself. While i like virgin coconut oil, some things are just better with butter or ghee.

Justin, make a batch! It is fun to do – and really easy overall :)

"Justin, make a batch! It is fun to do – and really easy overall :)"

I've never made ghee, but I've made a bunch of gee (as in, gee, what the hell is that supposed to be?)

LOL thank you for the encouragement Sarah, I will try it sometime. Wonder if it can be canned at all? I'm a bit of a prepper and canned (jarred) ghee sounds like it would last awhile unrefrigerated.

" Wonder if it can be canned at all? I'm a bit of a prepper and canned (jarred) ghee sounds like it would last awhile unrefrigerated."

Look for it in any South Asian grocery. You will probably find it in glass jars and also cans. One thing to be aware of is that "ghee" is also made from vegetable oil for those south Asians who totally avoid animal products, so ask the proprietor for genuine dairy based ghee. And, yes, it will last a very long time unrefrigerated. that is why it was developed long ago when there was no refrigeration.

Thank you for the advice Tom. I would like to try making my own, was just wondering if pouring it hot in a mason jar would do the suction thang that happens with traditional canning/jarring foods. Don't see why not, but I've never done any hot canning/jarring before.

You can can butter :-)

As for water bath canning? It is beyond easy – it just looks scary is all ;-) Head over to http://www.freshpreserving.com/

Tanks Lass!