While ghee isn’t butter per-se, it’s close enough for me. I’ve used (store-bought) ghee and clarified butter previously and it’s taste is very close to full-casein butter.. What A Relief! (UPDATE 1-25-15: I’ve been eating butter on my veggies and in my frothy coffee and bone broth latte without issue for the past several months but still use ghee)
Maybe you are not familiar with Ghee….Ghee is the pure butterfat left over after the milk solids (casein protein) and water are removed from butter. It’s used widely in Indian cooking, and the word ghee is the Hindi word for fat. Ghee might as well be a synonym for clarified butter, although there is a slight difference. Like clarified butter (clarified butter or drawn butter is frequently eaten with crab legs or lobster) Ghee is made by melting butter, cooking off the water and separating the clear, golden butter fat from the milk solids. The only difference is that in some traditions, ghee is simmered for a little while, thus browning the milk solids and adding a slightly nutty flavor to the finished product. Not all ghee recipes necessarily specify the browning of the milk solids, however, so for all practical purposes ghee is clarified butter with an Indian name.
Ghee is better for high-heat cooking than butter since it has a smoke point of between 450°F and 475°F, as compared with about 350°F for ordinary butter. Another advantage of ghee is that it has a longer shelf life than ordinary butter and, when stored in an airtight container, can be kept at room temperature. The most important factor for me is that since the casein is removed it won’t cause me any problems!
You can purchase pre-made Organic Ghee from Grass Fed Cows or make you own.
I searched all over the internet looking for ways to use the amazing grass fed organic butter we get from The Family Cow (I keep an average of 10# of butter in my freezer, just in case of emergency) Making ghee is a simple process but I read horror stories of ruining ghee by burning it on the stove…. I decided to make mine in the crock pot to heat it slower-more evenly than my junk stove 🙂
Here’s how I made my ghee in my crock pot:
I put 2 pounds of Organic Grass-Fed Butter (which was frozen) into my crock pot, on high. I let it cook, uncovered for a total of 5 hours. The time will be different based on your butter, crockpot, etc… Occasionally check on your butter/ghee and spoon off any of the stuff on top…
Admittedly, I ran some errands and came home.. and it looked done! The milk solids at the bottom were brown so I did a final skim off the top then strained the finished ghee through my metal strainer lined with a paper towel. 2# of butter yielded 4 cups of Ghee, 2 beautiful pint jars!
Here’s what was left in the bottom of the crock pot after…. all the yucky browned dairy casein that’s so bad for some of us 🙁
And don’t forget, your homemade ghee is totally fine to be stored at room temperature!
Can you explain why you leave the cover off? I’m not familiar with crock pot cooking without the lid on and would be interested in learning why you prefer it for this recipe. Thank you for your reply.
This isn’t using a crock pot in a traditional manner, it’s a substitute to stovetop cooking
I’ve ruined 2# of butter trying to make ghee on my stove on two separate occasions. I never thought of trying to heat it in my slow cooker – I’ll have to give this a try. Thanks!
So did you just pour everything from the crockpot into the strainer? I’m confused how you still had the milk solids in the crockpot but had strained the ghee.
Yes – the milk solids fall to the bottom and get brown. when you strain it though a fine mesh strainer (or cheese cloth) it will collect the little brown bits and all that’s left is pure butter fat. If a little get through your strainer, no worries –they fall to the bottom of your jar and you can easily use the top ghee and toss the 1/8 of a inch on the bottom with a few brown specks 🙂
Thanks for this recipe! I have to eat gluten-free and dairy-free and a whole bunch of other “frees” and really appreciate ghee. I am definitely going to be making my own ghee this way!
Love the idea of making ghee in the crock pot. I tried it once on the stove top and just ended up with browned butter and I never tried making ghee again. Will def try this version.
Awesome recipe thank you! Just an FYI, I am a bit of a grammar nut. In the second paragraph it should say “Maybe you’re” not “your.” Any time it is shortened from “you are” it should be “you’re.” Don’t want to offend, just want to make sure you know since blog writers tend to lose readers with grammar errors.
Thanks for pointing that out. I do know the difference, but I’m human and make mistakes 🙂
Does this also get rid of the whey protein? My daughter has trouble with both casein and whey. Thanks.
Ghee is PURE BUTTERFAT. the whey is also removed 🙂
It’s really a cool and useful piece of information. I’m glad that you shared this useful information with us.
Please stay us informed like this. Thank you for sharing.
What all do you use this for?
Ghee can be used just like butter and/or other healthy cooking fats.
How long will the ghee last when making it this way?
WHen I make a BIG batch of ghee, I put it in jars and keep the surplus in the freezer (ghee is shelf stable, but I feel a little better about storing it in the freezer for an extended period of time) However, I keep a pint jar out on our counter that I’m currently using.. the longest it’s lasted us (before we used it up) was maybe a month…
Hi,
I make ghee for some time and love it. And my experience tells me that the butter in the pictures is overburned. It should not be so brownish. You should use lower temperature while cooking. Thats my opinion. 😉
Ghee and Clarified butter are very similar..specifically when the milk solids are not browned they are the same thing 🙂 In many indian traditional cultures the milk solids are browned (as I do) for a deeper flavor and in cases where it is desirable to remove all casein browning the milk solids allows more efficient removal.
I don’t need to make clarified butter for health reasons, but I love that this method makes it easier not to burn (and therefore waste) butter! I love having more reasons to use a crockpot :o)
This is a great idea! I love dairy, but dairy doesn’t love me, I can’t wait to make this with the hopes that I can have the flavour of butter in my life again!
Let me know if ghee works for you too!!