I made ghee

[Zizzer_Zazzer_Zuz]

If you are unfamiliar ghee is clarified butter. It has a high smoke point and can be stored for months without refrigeration. It's great for frying  and baking.

It is very expensive in the fancy grocery stores. It is VERY easy to make.

In a small mason jar simply melt unsalted butter over super low heat. If you have a gas stove with a pilot light that will work well. While melting the butter it is important that you do not stir it. At all. Let the milk solids settle to the bottom and some froth may form on top. Once the ghee turns clear, using a small spoon gently scoop the scum off the top. Carefully pour the clear yellow ghee in to another small mason jar. Be careful not to pour the white milk solids in to the ghee. You can also strain through several layers of cheese cloth. Letting the top cool a little makes clearing the scum a bit easier.

Today I simply placed the jar in front of my wood stove. I'm wondering if doing this in front of a Mr. Heater would do the same thing. I did one stick at a time and combined the results and clarified it all a second time. A 10 or 12 oz jar would do 2 sticks with ease. My lid pinged as it cooled. I'll use this batch but my next experiment may be canning it for long term storage.

 

[MrNoodly]

In a small mason jar simply melt unsalted butter over super low heat.

Or put the jar in a pot of water over low heat, double boiler style. Or put the jar of butter on your dashboard, in the sun. Personally, I'd avoid glass. Too many chances to break it. I'd go with a double boiler using a small pot inside a larger one or an empty can inside a pot.

 

[Zizzer_Zazzer_Zuz]

Or put the jar in a pot of water over low heat, double boiler style. Or put the jar of butter on your dashboard, in the sun. Personally, I'd avoid glass. Too many chances to break it. I'd go with a double boiler using a small pot inside a larger one or an empty can inside a pot.

I was thinking of not using the stove. Since the Mr. Heater is already running it wouldn't take more fuel.

The other nice outcome is that you can store the ghee unrefrigerated for weeks if not months.

 

[frater secessus]

It is very expensive in the fancy grocery stores. It is VERY easy to make.

If you travel through an area with an Indian/Pakistani grocery it is much more reasonable to buy.  Staples of any cuisine tend to be cheapest in their own market.
Also pick up spices at low, low prices.  <-- unintentional marketing slogan

 

[dragonflyinthesky]

Thanks for your recipe.

 

[towhee]

Thanks zizzer,

I like butter, and I like travel, and the fridge is often quite full.

Ghee sounds great. And easy.

 

[rvpopeye]

Ghee , that sounds like the perfect stuff !
Post any experiences you have with it . I'm sure others have already made some..

 

[flying kurbmaster]

another benefits of making ghee is you eliminate Casein(animal protein) which is the main negative health issue with dairy products, it is still a fat, so limited use is best if you want to avoid heart disease, stroke and cancers.

 

[MrNoodly]

...it is still a fat, so limited use is best if you want to avoid heart disease, stroke and cancers.

What's the point of living longer without butter?

 

[GotSmart]

What's the point of living longer without butter?

Or bacon!

 

[TrainChaser]

ZZZ, how much ghee did you get from one pound (4 sticks) of butter?


"Personally, I'd avoid glass. Too many chances to break it."

Glass is safer for foods than BHA-lined cans and most plastics. Mason jars are routinely and repeatedly heated to 250F. Glass in general has been heated to more than 3,000F just to make it.

The two things that glass can't handle are being exposed to are temperature extremes (rapid hot-to-cold or cold-to-hot) and clumsy people. Drunks have been handling glass for a long, long, LONG time.

 

[GotSmart]

.

The two things that glass can't handle are being exposed to are temperature extremes (rapid hot-to-cold or cold-to-hot) and clumsy people.  Drunks have been handling glass for a long, long, LONG time.

And that is the reason for aluminum cans, and plastic bottles. 

 

[Zizzer_Zazzer_Zuz]

Or bacon!

Some people get weirded out that I cook with fat back and suet.

Ghee will last a long time before it gets rancid.

 

[Zizzer_Zazzer_Zuz]

ZZZ, how much ghee did you get from one pound (4 sticks) of butter?


"Personally, I'd avoid glass. Too many chances to break it."

Glass is safer for foods than BHA-lined cans and most plastics.  Mason jars are routinely and repeatedly heated to 250F.  Glass in general has been heated to more than 3,000F just to make it.

The two things that glass can't handle are being exposed to are temperature extremes (rapid hot-to-cold or cold-to-hot) and clumsy people.  Drunks have been handling glass for a long, long, LONG time.

I did two sticks and I filled an 8 ounce mason jar. The milk solids that were left over I used in bread.

I also like glass since I can use StarSan to sanitize it. No need to boil and no need to rinse off the StarSan. I'm going to try keeping a squirt bottle of the stuff diluted in water in The Rig. 

As for plastic? I would not want to set a tupperware next to my propane heater ... or my wood stove. Now that's one temperature extreme plastic won't handle.

 

[frater secessus]

StarSan keeps longer if made with distilled water. In general you can use unless it's cloudy or pH rises above 3.0 when tested with litmus. I've used it to good effect in spray bottles but the acidic natures eats up metal return springs in the pumps if it gets on them.

 

[TrainChaser]

ZZZ: "I did two sticks and I filled an 8 ounce mason jar."

Okay, about half the volume. Not bad. Thanks!