Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Cool trick if you love ghee!

Have you ever had ghee?  It's similar in principle to clarified butter, but clarified butter is generally served melted and liquid, whereas ghee (the Indian name) is the name for the butterfat itself, whether it's melted or solid.  Basically, ghee is pure butterfat with the milk solids removed.  It has a delicious toasted, nutty flavor.  Because the milk solids have been removed from the butterfat, ghee cooks much better at higher temperatures than regular butter can, because there's no milk solids to burn.  The only downside is that making ghee takes time and supervision.

Or not.

Today I learned a really amazing way to make large quantities of ghee for all your cooking needs.  It couldn't be easier.  Just plunk two or three pounds of butter (preferably unsalted) into your slow cooker.  Cook on low until the butter is melted and the milk solids rise to the surface, somewhere between an hour and an hour and a half.

Skim the milk solids from the surface of the liquid with a spoon.  Then either ladle out the clear liquid, or pour it through cheesecloth to strain out any remaining milk solids.  And there you are, an ample supply of delicious homemade ghee.  It keeps a lot longer than plain butter and can be frozen as well.

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