Ayurveda teaches ghee is a medicinal food that is excellent for good health when used in cooking or added to foods. Ghee is considered to be one of the most sattvic foods available and also healing to all doshas.
Traditionally in Ayurveda, ghee is made from cultured butter. Cultured ghee has a richer taste and is a deep golden yellow, and the culturing converts lactose to lactic acid, making it more digestible for many people. It takes a few extra steps, but I encourage you to try making cultured ghee the traditional way at least once to gain a deeper appreciation for this sattvic medicinal food.
Traditional Ayurvedic Cultured Ghee
Description
Healing to all doshas.
Ingredients
Instructions
Culture the cream
-
Mix the cream and yogurt in a large bowl, or in a blender on the lowest speed.
-
Transfer the mixture into glass containers or glass or ceramic bowls. Loosely cover with cheese cloth or a kitchen towel and secure with a rubber band.
-
Let sit at room temperature until thickened and tangy, 12-36 hours, depending on the temperature of your kitchen.
-
Chill the cultured cream for at least 2 hours to stop fermentation.
Churn into cultured butter
-
Place the cultured cream in a large bowl, filling it only halfway. Using a hand blender on high speed, mix into thick whipped cream that will gradually loosen up and become sloshy. (Or fill a food processor bowl halfway and run on moderate speed for 4-7 minutes, until butter solids separate from the liquid.)
-
Turn the speed down as it keeps churning and looks more and more buttery. The cream will break into fresh cultured butter and buttermilk.
-
Line a fine-mesh sieve with cheesecloth and strain the butter mixture into a bowl. Pull the cheesecloth tightly over the butter, form it into a ball and squeeze out excess buttermilk. Save the buttermilk in the refrigerator for other recipes.
-
Transfer the butter to a clean bowl and knead, adding a few tablespoons of ice water at a time. Drain the water off as it becomes cloudy; repeat 3-4 times until it runs clearer. Knead until no liquid remains.
-
Repeat with the remaining cultured cream.
Cook into ghee
-
Preheat a 6-quart heavy bottom pot until the bottom is warm. Place the butter in the pot on the lowest possible setting and let it melt.
-
The butter will bubble and separate, with foam on top and solids falling to the bottom. Let the foam disappear naturally; this may take up to 50 minutes.
-
Keep the burner at the lowest setting and stir occasionally to avoid sediment burning and to help the water evaporate. When most of the solids have settled, stop stirring from the bottom up.
-
The ghee is ready when the butter oil is translucent and amber, the solids on the bottom are a consistent golden brown, and you can clearly see the bottom of the pan. Watch carefully so you do not burn the sediment or the ghee.
Strain and store
-
Fold cheesecloth into layers in a metal strainer over a glass or ceramic bowl. Carefully ladle the hot ghee through it and discard the strained solids.
-
Let the ghee cool for a few minutes, then pour into glass jars and let cool completely. It may turn semi-solid.
-
Put the lids on only when the jars have cooled to room temperature, to avoid condensation which will make the ghee turn rancid.
Note
- Equipment: whisk or blender, cotton kitchen towel and rubber bands, food processor or hand mixer with wire beaters, 2 metal sieves, 2 glass or ceramic mixing bowls, rubber scraper, heavy 6 quart pan (enamel coated cast iron is best), wooden spoon, dry cheesecloth, mason jars, and a small glass or metal container with a lid.
- I prefer the hand blender method since I had more control. Use the method that works best for you.
- Store jars in a dry, dark space such as a cabinet. Keep about 1/2 cup in a smaller container for daily use, and always use a clean spoon. Ghee keeps for a long time at room temperature; do not refrigerate it, since moisture will contaminate it.
- Use organic A2 milk products if you can find them.
