How to Make Ghee / Clarified Butter at Home

Wiki explains it best:  clarified butter is milk fat rendered from butter to separate the milk solids and water from the butterfat.  Typically, it is produced by melting butter and allowing the different components to separate by density.  The water evaporates, some solids float to the surface and are skimmed off, and the remainder of the milk solids sink to the bottom and are left behind when the butter fat (which would then be on top) is poured off.

Clarified butter, aka Ghee in Hindi and several other names around the world, is used in many ways in India – in cooking, for serving, dipping into or brushing on food, for religious purposes, and also as skin softener for dry skin during cold winters.

how to make ghee at home

Here in the US, I get the 2lb bottle of Swad ghee for $8.99 – but in this post I am going to show you how to make ghee at home for under $2 but same quantity.  That’s right.  Totally worth it.

Let’s Begin!

how to make ghee from yellow butter - melt the butter

1.  On medium heat, place unsalted butter in a pan, let it melt, & stir it once in a while.  At this point it will be light yellow in color.

how to make ghee from butter at home - foam starts to form on top

2.  In 10 minutes, the melted butter will form a thin foamy layer on top with the light yellow liquid on the bottom.  In a while, the light yellow liquid gets translucent & you start to see some thick milk solids at the bottom of pan.  Stir once in a while.

ghee made from yellow butter - milk solids start to separate

3.  When you see the liquid bubbling, and when it starts to look transparent, almost light golden-yellow in color, with the white foam on top – sprinkle just a little water with your hands on the foam all over the pan (it will sizzle, so keep some distance from the pan for safety).  Don’t pour water with spoon, just sprinkle around with your fingers – this helps to reduce & separate the foam easier & the solids slowly start to sink to the bottom.

making ghee from butter at home - milk solids sink or separate and clear yellow ghee visible

4.  When you see the dark golden-yellow colored clear liquid easily, the clarified butter (or ghee) is ready and it is time to remove the pan from the heat.  If you heat the pan any longer, your ghee will start to scorch, turn darker in color, and taste bad.  Strain the clarified butter (ghee) through a mesh or tea strainer in a dry & clean (& sterilized, if you wish) glass jar.

how to make fresh clarified butter at home

5.  When ghee reaches room temperature, add just a tiny pinch of salt in the bottle of ghee & stir it around with a spoon – this helps to get the texture that you see in the ready-made ghee.  This golden-yellow liquid in a couple of hours will become grainy.
*IMPORTANT* Do NOT add salt if you want to use ghee for festival or fasting food.

  Fresh homemade ghee / clarified butter is ready for use and can keep well for several months.  Store your homemade ghee at room temperature; does not need to be refrigerated at all ... unless you make it in huge amounts to last for a year.

making ghee at home - achieving the grainy ghee texture

What to do with the leftover milk solids in the strainer?

Well, you can add the milk solids into the dough while you knead wheat flour for making roti, or add it when cooking dal, mix it in curry or vegetables, or eat it (that’s what my husband does!) … it kinda tastes like khoya.  If you keep it out for too long, it will start to taste sour.

Notes:

-  I used 1 lb of unsalted butter (bought at less than $2 using coupons) & it yielded 2 ½ cups of ghee.  You can use half or double, triple, quadruple amount of unsalted butter & follow the same procedure.

-  The texture, color, or taste of ghee depends on the source of the milk from which the butter was made and the extent of boiling and simmering. [wiki]

-  Clarified butter has a higher smoke point than regular butter, and is therefore preferred in some cooking applications, such as sautéing. [wiki]

-  Clarified butter also has a much longer shelf life than fresh butter. [wiki]

-  It has negligible amounts of lactose and is, therefore, acceptable to most individuals afflicted with lactose intolerance. [wiki]

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