Better than butter? Seriously is that even possible. Yes my friends it is, and it’s called Ghee.
I can remember the exact time when I made the connection between what I ate and how I felt. I was 26 years old working for a new company that brought in a nutritionist to talk with the office staff about eating healthy. Her name was Sarah and I attribute her advice that day to what eventually got me here writing this blog post. After the talk, she saw me looking at one of her books that talked about the challenges with consuming dairy products. She asked me if I had ever considered taking dairy out of my diet. My response was “no, why would I”. Do you have any congestion? she asked. In fact, I did. As long as I could remember I had daily post nasal drip and a stuffy nose that restricted my breathing to only one nostril at a time. And I was a big milk drinker. Well hell, I’ll try anything I said. I stopped at Trader Joe’s on the way home that day and bought some milk alternatives ready to put her theory to the test.
2 days into it my sinuses cleared up completely! Post nasal drip gone. I was pissed!
All I had to do to breathe normally was remove dairy products?
It was literally under my nose the whole time, but a lack of information kept it from grasp for practically my whole life. I was hooked. After that, I went on a mission to see how much I could improve my health by tweaking my diet. It became what ultimately brought me to the decision of going back to school to study nutrition. I am so glad I did and grateful for the insight Sarah offered me as a young man.
I tell that story to tell you this one. You get the picture that I am very sensitive to dairy products as are many people. This is not to say other folks can’t survive or even thrive on dairy foods. In my case, however, I can not eat them without suffering from skins rashes, bloating, congestion, and loose bowels.
But who doesn’t like butter which brings us to the recipe of the week, Ghee. Although butter is typically the most hypoallergenic dairy product it still contains enough milk proteins and sugars to turn my immune system on or make me bloated. Ghee, on the other hand, is clarified butter, or butter oil that has all the residual proteins and lactose removed. The result is a delightfully golden oil rich in vitamin A, and short chain fats with a high heat tolerance that still retains the buttery taste everyone loves. Hence the term better than butter. OK on with the recipe.
Warning – Butter from grass-fed cows is an entirely different food than butter from conventionally grain-fed cows. Grass fed is what makes this food nutritious. My favorite brand is Kerrygold. You get what you pay for when it comes to butter so don’t sell out to save a few bucks, it is worth it.
Grass-Fed Ghee
- 32-96 oz Kerrygold butter – depending on how much you want to make
- Stockpot – Preferably a shallow one
- Large spoon or ladle
- Splatter screen or metal colander – You won’t need this once you learn to control the temp
Method:
- Put all the butter into the stock pot
- Cook on the stove top on medium heat, covered with the splatter screen or colander
- As the foam rises to the top start removing it with the spoon being careful not to capture any of the oil
- Continue to remove the foam until it is no longer forming on the surface and you can see down to the bottom of the pot
- I prefer a toasty finish and will cook the ghee until it gets to a golden color being careful not to burn it
- Let it rest for 15 minutes then remove the remaining surface foam
- Pour it off into a glass container not letting any of the bits on the bottom to get in your jar
Notes: Learn to adjust your cooking temperature so the butter does not splatter and or burn. You will get the hang of it with practice. Ghee can be used anywhere you would typically use butter