Ghee, I Love You.

Ghee is purified butter. In India it is traditionally made from butter churned from yogurt curd but it can also be made from cow, goat and buffalo milk. Ayurvedic practitioners attribute ghee with many healing properties. Peter Malakoff & Gilda Zucolella of Ancient Organics wrote this:     

“Many Uses of Ghee     

 

  

1. For Body Massage-Abhyanga. Apply ghee all over the body, rubbing into head, chest, limbs, joints and orifices. This will bypass the digestive system and allow the qualities of Ghee to penetrate directly into the deeper tissues. It is said that 60% of what is placed on the skin is absorbed into the body. We literally “eat” what we put on our skin. Western science has discovered that massaging the skin creates endorphins or peptides, which enhance the body’s immune system. Peptides are thought to be the vehicle that the mind and body use to communicate with each other, a literal chemistry of emotion. According to the Charak Samhita, regular Abhyanga slows the aging process.
2. Ghee is used in Purvakarma, (early Panchakarma) where a small amount of Ghee is taken first thing in the morning by the practitioner to oleate the internal organs and “dissolve” the ama or toxic wastes in the tissues, allowing them to be carried to the digestive tract for elimination.
3. Ghee is used as a carrier or “yogavahi” for herbs and bhasmas because of its supreme penetrating qualities and thus ability to carry these substances deep into the dhatus or tissues.
4. One or two teaspoons first thing in the morning followed immediately with hot water will promptly produce a bowel movement. It will also warm the body quickly. Two spoonfuls of Ghee in warm (non-homogenized) milk before bedtime is soothing to the nerves and lubricates the intestines and facilitates a bowel movement in the morning.
5. Ghee is excellent for cooking and sautéing or stir-frying. Ghee has one of the highest flash points of all oils and is very difficult to burn. In India, it is said that food is incomplete without the use of Ghee.
6. Ghee is excellent for a gargle-gandush, to improve the health of the teeth and gums.
7. Ghee can be used as a bath oil. Take two tablespoons of Ghee and mix with several drops of an essential oil of your choice.
8. Ghee is excellent for scrapes and both chemical and heat or fire burns. Ghee can be used in the eyes for tiredness or fatigue.
9. Ghee is an exquisite facial moisturizer.
10. In India it is said that if a few drops of ghee are placed in the nostrils then nosebleed can be checked. If this is done twice in a day, then headache can be relieved.”

 The Full article can be found here: http://www.amritaveda.com/learning/articles/ghee.asp    

   

  I have no idea if any of this is true but I’m fascinated by it none the less and would really enjoy putting ghee up to the test. I decided to make ghee. I couldn’t find butter churned from yogurt curd and it was impossible to find freshly churned butter so I bought Organic Unsalted Butter. I would recommend looking for a coupon on this item, organic butter is expensive. I did a little research and found it’s fairly simple to make ghee. All you need is your butter, a pot, a glass or earthen jar, a small sieve and some cheesecloth.     

     

I decided to work with 2 sticks of butter. I put the burner on low heat and began the melting process.     

     

The first thing that happens is a white foam layer begins to form at the top of the liquid. This is the water leaving the butter.     

     

The butter actually begins to separate into three layers the first is the foam, the second is the golden liquid and at the bottom milk solids begin to form. The gobs floating around like that remind me of a lava lamp.     

     

I let this continue heating until there was no foam on the top and the milk solids had turned brown. I then cut the cheesecloth to fit my sieve.     

     

I strained the solid from the liquid which poured directly into a Mason jar.     

     

The solids are dark and nasty. The crumbs look like used coffee grinds.     

     

The liquid is dark amber in color.     

     

Solidified, the ghee is golden.     

     

Ghee does not need to be refrigerated. The lactose particles are removed so it’s safe for those that are lactose intolerant. It keeps up to a month in an airtight container though in India they have ghee that has been aged 100 years plus because the aging supposedly increases healing properties. I labeled mine with the date I made it.     

     

Ghee is very flavorful. It almost has a nutty taste.  I just love it on my waffles combined with real maple syrup.  Yummy!  I love ghee.     

Read Full Post »