Ghee is melted butter that has a golden hue and a nutty aroma. You can serve ghee drizzled on popcorn, melted and spread on cinnamon raisin bread or stirred into cooked vegetables. You can buy ghee at the supermarket these days, but it is super easy to make at home. Ghee is more flavourful than butter and can be substituted in any recipe that calls for melted butter. This post will show you step-by-step how to make Homemade Ghee.
This easy step-by-step guide on How to Make Ghee is so easy. If you have never made ghee before, you don’t know what you’re missing. It’s so heavenly. If you love butter, you’re going to love ghee.
Clarified Butter vs Ghee vsBrowned Butter
Clarified butter made by melting butter and then removing the whey proteins and the milk solids. The whey proteins appear as white foam that rises to the top of the melted butter. These are removed with a spoon very carefully from the surface. The milk solids will sink to the bottom. The milk solids are filtered out or left in the pan after carefully pouring out the clarified butter.
To make ghee, continue cooking the clarified butter a little longer. The extra cooking removes the moisture and toasts the milk solids on the bottom of the pan which increases the flavour. The milk solids on the bottom will toast slightly, but not as much as browned butter. It is more golden in colour than clarified butter and has a slightly nutty aroma.
Browned butter takes ghee one step further by browning those wonderful milk solids even more. Browned butter is darker in colour than ghee and can be used in sauces, cookies etc. You can leave the browned milk solids in the butter for a richer flavour, or you can filter them out. These cookies as well as these madeleine cookies are made with browned butter. The browned butter increases their flavour. They’re really delicious.
I always refrigerate clarified butter, ghee and browned butter. It’s better to be safe. They will keep for at least a few weeks in your refrigerator.
Ways to Use Ghee
Ghee can be used in many different ways. Here are a few ways that I like to use it:
- grease bread and cake pans
- use with filo pastry
- any cookiie recipe made with melted butter
- drizzled over popcorn
- served with vegetables, if you want to add some extra flavour
To start making your ghee, add the cubed butter to a large skillet.
Melt the butter on medium heat.
Remove the white foam, with a spoon, very carefully from the surface. Remember the skillet, especially the edges, will be hot. And then put the skillet back on a low burner.
Continue to cook on very low until the milk solids on the bottom of the pan turn golden and the butter smells nutty and aromatic. Don’t stir it, but watch it like a hawk, and as soon as the milk solids are golden brown like in this photo, remove your pan from the heat.
Once the butter has cooled down, pour the golden melted butter into a warm preserving jar, but leave the browned bits in the pan. You can also strain the melted butter through triple layered cheesecloth or a coffee filter. I just pour it very very carefully into a jar.
Ghee is wonderful for cooking with. I also use it to grease bread pans when I’m baking bread.
Ghee is so beautiful and so delicious.
How-To-Make Ghee
Ingredients
- 250 grams butter (or use more, if you want to make a big batch)
Instructions
Melt the butter in a skillet on medium heat.
Once the white foam rises to the surface, remove the skillet from the heat and very carefully remove the white foam with a spoon. Discard the white foam.
Return the pan to a very low heat.
Keep the heat on low and watch your pan like a hawk.
As soon as the bits on the bottom of the pan start to turn golden brown, remove your pan from the heat.
Your ghee is now done.
Let it cool down.
Then pour it into a warm preserving jar.
I like to keep mine in the refrigerator. It will solidify and be more coarse when it's cold.
Use the ghee within 30 days.