My friend taught me how to make ghee yesterday. It’s so easy I feel terrible that I haven’t been making ghee all my life! Those nice lumps of unsalted Mother’s butter in our cooler are perfect for ghee.
Put a pound of unsalted butter in a wide saucepan over medium-high heat; it boils and sputters in about 2 or 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low. A foam of milk solids will form on top of the butter, which will become a scum after about 20 minutes. Busy yourself in the kitchen, but keep your eye and your nose on the pot while it continues cooking. In about ten or more minutes there’s a change: the butter is golden and brown flecks of milk solids will be visible in the bottom of the pan. Careful now; don’t let it scorch. Sniff; a delicious caramel fragrance will tell you when the ghee is done. Gently pour your ghee into a small crock or mason jar through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth. If you use a mason jar, pour in a little to heat the jar for a moment first so it won’t crack; then fill it in two more pours. Put a tight cover on it to store. Ghee doesn’t need refrigeration and will keep in an airtight container for up to a month.
Ghee makes everything taste divine–use it on bread–sprinkled with local sea salt. Put it on vegetables, on meat, on grains or pastas, on breakfast cereal–in or on just about anything! Use it instead of plain butter to make biscuits or pie crust or cornbread. Homemade is tastier and costs half as much for a pound as a pint of ghee costs in a cute little jar with a blue label.
— Eleanor
