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How to Make Ghee? (A Long-term Storage Solution for Butter)

bottle: how to make ghee

Butter is the stuff of life! But it doesn’t store well for long-term preparedness when you have to rely on keeping it frozen. But there is a way to save the butter for your pantry… GHEE! Follow along for easy instructions on how to do it:

Ghee is some wonderful stuff! It has a nutty aroma and lends itself to cooking so well. We use it often to cook. It adds flavor to our dishes. It can taste great in various recipes. If you need to store it without freezing, there is a solution.

You might know it from your Red Lobster days with a lobster – clarified butter. But basically, Ghee is butter that has had the milk solids cooked out of it. You boil it, strain it and stick it in a jar.

Ghee is used a lot in Indian cook to replace butter in cooking. It can be used by even lactose intolerant folks because the milk solids have been taken out of it. So, there’s actually no milk left.  It can be used to replace butter in a lot of applications. Which also makes it an excellent way to store your butter long-term!

Benefits:

  • Does not contain milk solids, so even lactose-intolerant people can use it for cooking.
  • Stores at room temperature on your counter are in a semi-solid state but can be stored in the fridge if your house runs hot, though they will become solid and need to be brought to room temp. to use it.
  • It has a very high smoke point, so you can use it in place of more volatile oils in your cooking – fry, sear, etc.
  • It’s high in vitamin K2
  • Ghee can be used to replace lipids such as olive oil in your cooking, or used as a spread like butter. However, the taste, in our opinion, doesn’t really work well as a butter replacement on toast, but if you’re making something to go on top, like cinnamon/sugar, then it will work just fine.

What is a Ghee?

Ghee is a saturated fat, but because it’s made in a more healthy way than hydrogenated fats, it is better for you than margarine (gosh, isn’t just about everything better for you than margarine?). And for those of us trying to move away from the Standard American Diet which consists of so many processed foods, using Ghee and Olive Oil can replace about 90% of the processed fats we use in our home.

While Ghee does contain cholesterol, the benefits of it as a cooking ‘lipid’ far outweigh the issue of it being a saturated fat. And, in the process, if you’re using raw or cold-processed, grass-fed butter straight from your local dairy, there is virtually no processing of the butter – you have no additives (color and shelf stability), and no loss of the good stuff in butter. Be particularly mindful to only use unsalted butter with no additives (and if you can find culture – that’s even better).

Ghee stores long-term – I’ve had a jar in the pantry for about six months, which I broke out last week to use, and it’s great! You should be able to store it for a year or longer with safe methods. It is a game changer when you want to store one without freezing it. It will taste as good as it was first made. Check out how it is made!

How to Make Ghee?

1 lb unsalted, pure butter

1 saucepan

  • Put butter in the pan, and bring it to a slow and gentle boil. Do not boil on high heat as it can burn those milk solids that collect on the bottom, and give it a bad taste.
  • As the foam begins to form on the top – which is the moisture coming out of the butter, skim it off with a spoon.
  • In approximately 15-20 min, your ghee will be ready.
  • As the ghee layer begins to turn a golden brown and take on a nutty flavor, you’ll be just about done.
  • Use a strainer lined with paper towels or cheesecloth to strain the ghee into a wide-mouth jar or large measuring cup. You don’t want the milk solids to go into the final product.
  • Once you’ve strained all the ghee, transfer it into a clean, air-tight container to store on the cabinet. I’ve never had to store it for longer than a month or two, but it does last for a long time.

How do I do it?

I store my ghee in canning jars just as if I were canning. The preparation I do is the same way, by heating them in boiling water for 20 min, to make sure I have clean and sanitized jars. I, however, do not process them as you would other food. I just pour them into the jars, seal them, and store them as per above.

Use Ghee to replace oil or butter or margarine for light-duty oils in your everyday cooking. Use larger amounts for deep frying. And because it has a higher smoke point, it’s better for you to use it in high temp cooking than olive oil which breaks down at high temps.

Here is a video on how to make ghee to see the process.

You can also just bake the butter in a dish in the oven at 350 for about an hour, then skim off the top foam layer and finish the process as usual. I just prefer keeping my eye on it in a saucepan and skimming as I go while I’m doing other things in the kitchen.

You can also purchase Ghee already made from many health food stores (Whole Foods, etc) and Indian markets.

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Katy Willis is a writer, lifelong homesteader, and master herbalist, master gardener, and canine nutritionist. Katy is a preparedness expert and modern homesteader practicing everyday preparedness, sustainability, and a holistic lifestyle.

She knows how important it is to be prepared for whatever life throws at you, because you just never know what's coming. And preparedness helps you give your family the best chance to thrive in any situation.

Katy is passionate about living naturally, growing food, keeping livestock, foraging, and making and using herbal remedies. Katy is an experienced herbalist and a member of the CMA (Complementary Medical Association).

Her preparedness skills go beyond just being "ready", she's ready to survive the initial disaster, and thrive afterward, too. She grows 100% organic food on roughly 15 acres and raises goats, chickens, and ducks. She also lovingly tends her orchard, where she grows many different fruit trees. And, because she likes to know exactly what she's feeding her family, she's a seasoned from-scratch cook and gluten-free baker.

Katy teaches foraging and environmental education classes, too, including self-sufficient living, modern homesteading, seed saving, and organic vegetable gardening.

Katy helps others learn forgotten skills, including basic survival skills and self-reliance.

She's been published on sites such as MSN, Angi, Home Advisor, Family Handyman, Wealth of Geeks, Readers Digest, and more.

3 thoughts on “How to Make Ghee? (A Long-term Storage Solution for Butter)”

  1. Hi!
    So if I make ghee, put it in clean, warm jars, and then put lids on, they might seal without a pressure canner I’m guessing. How long would those jars be good for if stored in a dark, cool place?
    Would I still need to pressure can them, and if so, how long would those jars keep?
    Thanks!

    Reply
    • I’ve been making ghee for quiet some time now. I always pour it in clean hot jars and place the lid and ring on and hand tighten. As they cool the jars will seal. You will hear the popping of the lids as they seal. I have never pressure canned nor water bathed them and they have always been fine. I am currently using some that had been sealed for several months and it’s just as good now as it was when I first made it. Good luck on your ghee venture!

      Reply

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