GHEE vs. Clarified Butter (they’re not the same thing)

Did you know that most commercially made ghee  is *not actually ghee*? It’s clarified butter. And, yes, there’s a difference.

Clarified Butter is made by cooking butter until the oil separates from the milk solids (which will look creamy white at this stage) and then the oil is strained through a filter. This is fine for cooking with *immediately* (many chefs cook with it), but it is NOT SHELF STABLE. Many commercial ghee brands do sell it on the shelves and label it “ghee”, but quite frankly: it’s at least mildly rancid. Additionally, it may not be completely free of lactose. 

GHEE is made by doing the same process as stated above, but continuing to cook the butter after it separates, for as long as it takes to caramelize/brown the milk solids. In doing so, ALL of the moisture/whey/lactose is thoroughly removed - which is why ghee is shelf stable (and doesn’t turn rancid).

In fact, many ghee companies use an electric steam kettle to make ghee in large batches, also known as a “ghee boiler”. It basically looks like a metal robot with a lid. Google image search here. This is problematic for several reasons, but here’s one: the milk solids don’t get caramelized. 

  🔥OPEN FLAME GHEE // the fire element🔥

In ancient Vedic texts there were specific instructions for how to make ghee - because ghee was (and still is) the staple of that medicine system. The Vedas say of ghee the ‘first and the most essential of all foods’. One  of these ancient instructions was to cook it over a flame, inviting the element of fire into the process, uncovered to allow moisture to be pulled upward by the Moon. 

People often assume that GHEE IS GHEE IS GHEE IS GHEE - have you tried Goddess Ghee in a taste test next to other ghee (particularly the brands that use “clarified butter” on their label)? It’s not the same. In fact, in a taste test between Goddess Ghee and [insert multiple ghee brands here that I shall not name]  we found it unbearable to consume the  remainder of the unmentionable Ghees. (They make great fire starter though.) 🤭

So whether you’re researching which brand of ghee to buy, or making it yourself at home : NOW YOU KNOW. Ghee and Clarified Butter are not created equal. A sure-fire (pun intended!) way to know you’ve got the good stuff: it should taste caremelized - otherwise it’s probably not ghee.