What is Ghee and How do I Make it?

I have been hearing all of these good things about Ghee, so I decided to do some research and make it for myself, to see what all the hype was about. Not going to lie it was actually a lot of fun to make! It's a longer processes (thats why I love that I did it in the crockpot ;)) but the house smelled amazing and the boys loved watching all the different stages it went through!

What Is Ghee?

It’s a type of clarified butter that is used in the dishes, medicines and traditional religious rituals in many parts of Southeast Asia. Most people that are allergic or intolerant to dairy can consume ghee with no negative reactions because the milk solids have been removed!

"Ghee" comes from the Sanskrit word meaning "sprinkled," and it basically means that the milk fat is rendered from the butter to separate the milk solids and water. It’s made by melting butter and skimming the fat off of the top. You’ll be left with a yellow liquid (liquid gold) when it’s hot and a creamy looking solid one when the ghee cools down.  

Not only is this easy to make but ghee also has a number of benefits. 

Health Benefits of Ghee: 

1. Ghee is considered a power and healing food in many cultures. It’s extremely high in nutrients. It’s rich in vitamins A, D, E, K2. It’s one of the highest natural sources of CLA. 

2. Ghee is rich in medium chain fatty acids, which means it’s used immediately as energy and not easily stored as fat. 

3. Ghee is excellent for digestion as it stimulates the digestive fires. It’s rich in butyrate which suppresses inflammation in the gut and other tissues.

How to Make Crockpot Ghee

Ingredients: 

- Butter: Any amount you want to make. I used 4 blocks (8-ounces each) of organic Horizon salted butter, totaling 32 ounces. You can use salted or unsalted butter. I know most ghee recipes tell you to use unsalted butter, but I actually like using salted butter a bit better. The majority of the salt ends up in the milk solids, leaving the ghee very, very lightly salted. It’s perfect!

-Crockpot 

-Cheese cloth (I got mine on the gadget isle of Safeway)

-Glass jar or jars (I used 32oz Mason Jar) 

Directions:

1. Place the butter in your crockpot. 

2. Set your crockpot to high and keep it uncovered. 

3. The pictures below show the changes you will see as the butter is cooking. The first picture is about 15 minutes after I added the butter. on the left is after about an hour. The butter is starting to completely melt. About 2 hours or so later, you’ll start to see foam gathering on the top. Then you’ll notice the foam start to turn brown. As it turns brown, it will start giving off a very pleasant, almost nutty aroma.

4.  After the foam on top starts to turn brown and develops a crust, turn off the crockpot. This can take anywhere from 3 hours to 7+ hours, depending on your crockpot. 

5. Strain the the liquid into your jar or jars using a double folded cheesecloth. If any milk sold make it through, they will float to the top so they will be easy to spot.  You can skim them off with a spoon or you can strain the ghee a second time.

6. Set out to cool. The Ghee will lighten up as shown in the picture at the top of the page. You do not have to refrigerate. I did overnight to firm it up!

7. Enjoy :) The boys love it on their toast the next morning.