Ghee

Ghee is a type of clarified butter, originating from the Indian subcontinent. It is commonly used in South Asian, Iranian, Arabic, and Indian cuisines, traditional medicine, and religious rituals.

Etymology and terminology

The word ghee comes from the Sanskrit word घृत (ghṛta), which means "sprinkled". In the Indian subcontinent, ghee is commonly used in cooking and is considered a sacred food in many religious rituals.

History

Ghee has been used in Indian cooking and traditional medicine for thousands of years. It is mentioned in ancient texts such as the Rigveda and the Ayurveda, where it is praised for its health benefits and culinary versatility.

Production

Ghee is made by simmering butter, which is churned from cream, and removing the liquid residue. This process separates the milk solids from the fat, resulting in a clear, golden liquid. The milk solids are then discarded, and the remaining fat is ghee.

How to Make Ghee

To make ghee at home, follow these steps:

1. Melt unsalted butter in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat.
2. Once melted, reduce the heat to low and simmer the butter. The butter will begin to foam and separate into three layers: foam on top, clarified butter in the middle, and milk solids at the bottom.
3. Continue to simmer until the milk solids turn golden brown and sink to the bottom, and the butter becomes clear and golden.
4. Remove from heat and let it cool slightly.
5. Strain the ghee through a cheesecloth or fine mesh strainer into a clean, dry jar. Discard the milk solids.
6. Store the ghee at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

Uses

Ghee is highly versatile and can be used in various culinary and non-culinary applications.

Culinary Uses

• **Cooking:** Ghee has a high smoke point, making it ideal for frying, sautéing, and roasting.
• **Baking:** It can be used as a substitute for butter or oil in baking recipes.
• **Flavoring:** Ghee adds a rich, nutty flavor to dishes and can be used to enhance the taste of curries, rice, and lentils.
• **Spreads:** It can be spread on bread, toast, or used as a topping for pancakes and waffles.

Non-Culinary Uses

• **Traditional Medicine:** Ghee is used in Ayurveda for its purported health benefits, including improving digestion and boosting immunity.
• **Skin Care:** It can be used as a moisturizer for dry skin and as a base for homemade skin care products.
• **Religious Rituals:** Ghee is used in various religious ceremonies and rituals in Hinduism and other South Asian religions.

Ghee in Hindu Rituals

Ghee holds a significant place in Hindu rituals and ceremonies. It is considered a sacred substance and is used in various religious practices:

• **Yajña and Homa:** Ghee is a crucial element in Vedic yajña and homa (fire rituals), where it is offered to deities through the medium of Agni (fire) to seek blessings[^1^][11].
• **Aarti:** In Hindu worship, aarti involves offering light from wicks soaked in ghee to deities. This ritual is performed daily in many households and temples[^2^][13].
• **Pañcāmṛta:** Ghee is one of the five ingredients in Pañcāmṛta, used for bathing deities during special occasions like Janmashtami and Maha Shivaratri[^1^][11].

• The Charaka Samhita, an ancient Ayurvedic text, states: "The intake of ghee is prescribed for those whose bodily constitution is dominated by vata and pitta, those desirous of good eyesight, longevity, strength, good complexion, voice, nourishment, progeny, luster, memory, intelligence, and proper functioning of sense organs"[^3^][9].

• In the Mahabharata, it is mentioned that the Kauravas were born from pots of ghee, highlighting its sacred and life-giving properties[^1^][11].

• Buddhist scriptures use stages of dairy production, including ghee, as metaphors for stages of enlightenment[^1^][11].

Difference between Ghee and Clarified Butter

While ghee and clarified butter are similar, there are key differences:

• **Production Process:** Both are made by simmering butter to remove water and milk solids. However, ghee is cooked longer, allowing the milk solids to brown and caramelize, giving it a nutty flavor[^4^][1][^5^][2].
• **Flavor and Aroma:** Ghee has a richer, nuttier flavor compared to the milder taste of clarified butter[^5^][2].
• **Smoke Point:** Ghee has a higher smoke point than clarified butter, making it more suitable for high-heat cooking[^4^][1].

Nutrition and Health Benefits

Ghee is rich in fat-soluble vitamins and healthy fats. Here are some of its nutritional benefits:

• **Vitamins:** Ghee is a good source of vitamins A, D, E, and K[^6^][14].
• **Healthy Fats:** It contains conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and butyrate, which have anti-inflammatory properties[^6^][14].
• **Lactose-Free:** Ghee is almost lactose-free, making it suitable for people with lactose intolerance[^6^][14].
• **Antioxidants:** The vitamin E in ghee acts as an antioxidant, helping to reduce the risk of heart disease and other chronic conditions[^6^][14].

Health Benefits

Ghee is rich in fat-soluble vitamins such as A, D, E, and K. It is also a source of butyrate, a short-chain fatty acid that has been linked to various health benefits, including improved digestion and anti-inflammatory properties[^6^][14].

See also

• Butter
• Clarified butter
• Indian cuisine
• Ayurveda

Etymology

The word ghee comes from Sanskrit: घृत (ghṛta-, IPA: [ɡʱr̩tɐ]) 'clarified butter', from घृ, ghṛ-, 'to sprinkle'; cognate with the Ancient Greek word χριστός (khristós, 'rubbed, anointed'), from which derives the English word Christ.

In Hinduism

Traditionally, ghee is made from bovine milk, either cow or water buffalo. Ghee has been used in rituals since the Vedic period and it is a sacred requirement in Vedic yajña and homa (fire rituals), through the medium of Agni (fire) to offer oblations to various deities (See: Yajurveda).

Fire rituals are utilized for ceremonies such as marriage and funerals. Ghee is required in Vedic worship of mūrtis (divine deities), with aarti (offering of ghee lamp) called diyā or dīpa and for Pañcāmṛta (Panchamruta) where ghee along with mishri, honey, milk, and dahi (curd) is used for bathing the deities on the appearance day of Krishna on Janmashtami, Śiva (Shiva) on Mahā-śivarātrī (Maha Shivaratri). There is a hymn to ghee. In the Mahabharata, the kaurava were born from pots of ghee.

Finding ghee pure enough to use for sacred purposes is a problem these days for devout Hindus, since many large-scale producers add salt to their product. Ghee is also used in bhang in order to heat the cannabis to cause decarboxylation, making the drink psychoactive.

In Buddhist scripture, stages of dairy production are used as metaphors for stages of enlightenment. The highest-stage product, sarpir-maṇḍa, is theorised to be ghee or clarified butter.

Culinary uses

Ghee is common in cuisines from the Indian subcontinent, including traditional rice preparations (such as biryani). In Maharashtra, polis or Indian breads are accompanied with ghee. For example, 'Puranpoli', a typical Maharashtrian dish is eaten with much ghee. In Rajasthan, ghee often accompanies baati. All over north India, ghee tops roti. In Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, ghee tops dosa, and kesari bhath. In Bengal (both West Bengal and Bangladesh) and Gujarat, khichdi is a traditional evening meal of rice with lentils, cooked in curry made from dahi (yogurt), cumin seeds, curry leaves, cornflour, turmeric, garlic, salt and ghee. It is also an ingredient in kadhi and Indian sweets, such as Mysore pak and varieties of halva and laddu. Indian restaurants typically incorporate large amounts of ghee, sometimes brushing naan and roti with it, either during preparation or just before serving. In the state of Odisha ghee is widely used in regional Odia cuisines such as Khechedi and Dalma. Particularly the satwik type of food prepared in most temples in Odisha uses ghee as a major ingredient in their culinary tradition. Ghee is widely used in South Indian cuisine for tempering curries and in preparation of rice dishes and sweets. South Indians have a habit of adding ghee to their rice before eating it with pickles and curries. South Indians are among the biggest consumers of ghee. The people from Andhra Pradesh especially use ghee for preparation of savoury and sweet dishes alike. Ghee is important to traditional North Indian cuisine, with parathas, daals and curries often using ghee instead of oil for a richer taste. The type of ghee, in terms of animal source, tends to vary with the dish; for example, ghee prepared from cow's milk (Bengali: গাওয়া ঘী, gaoa ghi) is traditional with rice or roti or as a finishing drizzle atop a curry or daal (lentils) whereas buffalo-milk ghee is more typical for general cooking purposes.

Ghee is an ideal fat for deep frying because its smoke point (where its molecules begin to break down) is 250 °C (482 °F), which is well above typical cooking temperatures of around 200 °C (392 °F) and above that of most vegetable oils.

Flavour

The main flavour components of ghee are carbonyls, free fatty acids, lactones, and alcohols. Along with the flavour of milk fat, the ripening of the butter and temperature at which it is clarified also affect the flavour. For example, ghee produced by the clarification of butter at 100 °C (212 °F) or less results in a mild flavour, whereas batches produced at 120 °C (248 °F) produce a strong flavour.

Differences from clarified butter

Ghee differs slightly in its production from that of clarified butter. The process of creating clarified butter is complete once the water is evaporated and the fat (clarified butter) is separated from the milk solids. However, the production of ghee includes simmering the butter, which makes it nutty-tasting and aromatic.

A traditional Ayurvedic recipe for ghee is to boil raw milk, let it cool to 43 °C (109 °F). After leaving it covered at room temperature for around 12 hours, add a bit of dahi (yogurt) to it and leave it overnight. This makes more yogurt. This is churned with water, to obtain cultured butter, which is used to simmer into ghee.

Nutrition and health

Like any clarified butter, ghee is composed almost entirely of fat, 62% of which consists of saturated fats. Most commercial preparations in India were also found to contain significant amount of trans fats. It has negligible amounts of lactose and casein and is, therefore, acceptable to most people who have a lactose intolerance or milk allergy.

Ghee consumption has been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.Template:Bcn The British Dietetic Association, British Nutrition Foundation, National Health Service, Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada and World Health Organization advise people to limit ghee consumption due to its high saturated fat content.

Preparation methods

There are five common methods through which ghee is prepared. Industrial preparation on the other hand is done by using "white butter", usually sourced from other dairies and contractors.

Milk butter

Sour raw milk is churned into butter. The butter is boiled in an open pan to allow the water to evaporate. The hot ghee is transferred and stored.

Direct cream

Fresh cream, cultured or washed cream is directly converted to ghee. This method requires a long heating time and produces a caramelized flavor.

Cream butter

Milk is separated into cream which is then churned into butter. The butter undergoes heat clarification to produce ghee.

Pre-stratification

This method is suitable for large quantities of butter. Butter is melted at 80–85 °C (176–185 °F) for 30 minutes. Layers of protein particles, fat and buttermilk are induced. The buttermilk is drained out. The remaining layers of fat are heated to a temperature of 110 °C (230 °F) to remove moisture and develop flavor.

Packaging

Ghee is generally found to be packaged in airtight glass jars. They should be kept away from direct sunlight as sunlight can cause moisture to build inside the jar. Moisture can cause deterioration to the ghee's quality as well as reduce its shelf life. To prevent the acceleration of the oxidation process, they should be protected from anything that causes it, such as UV rays from sunlight and fluorescent lights. If the jar is unopened, it does not need to be refrigerated as long as the previously mentioned conditions are met. Once opened, they can be stored in a kitchen cabinet for up to three months. Afterwards, it may be left in the refrigerator for up to a year. The refrigerator causes ghee to harden but if it is left at room temperature for a while, it will soften up again.

Composition

Ghee may be made of milk from various domesticated ungulates, such as cows, buffaloes and sheep. The composition of ghee varies depending on the animal whose milk has been used. The vitamin A content ranged from 315 to 375 μg per 100 grams. Palmitic acid and oleic acid were two of the main fatty acids found in both cow and sheep ghee. The saturated fatty acid profile was 53.9 to 66.8%, the unsaturated fatty acid profile was 22.8 to 38.0% and the other fatty acids was 3.5 to 10.4%. Cholesterol amounts ranged from 252 to 284 mg/100 grams.

References

https://lifespa.com/ayurvedic-supplement-facts-ghee/ ^[archive]

https://amritaveda.com/learning/articles/ghee.asp ^[archive]

https://takecontrol.substack.com/p/ghee-tested-for-toxic-phthalates ^[archive]