Making your own ghee or clarified butter

Following the GAPS protocol for eating means eating more fat than you would typically eat and also forms of fat you may not be familiar with or routinely eating.

One of those forms of fat is ghee. I first learned about ghee from cooking Indian cuisine. I love Indian food and go through periods of obsession with cooking various Indian dishes or learning how to make certain Indian staples. Ghee is one of those staples in Indian cooking and it is easy to make on your own at home. All you really need is a pound of unsalted, and preferably grass-fed butter and either a thick-bottomed saucepan or baking dish. Do not use a non-stick pan for this. You can use either a stainless steel pan or glass or ceramic baking dish.

You can make your ghee either on the stovetop in a pan or in the oven in a baking dish.
I have made it on the stovetop before with a gas stove and now an electric stove.
Simply put the entire pound of butter in the pan and turn on the heat on the lowest possible setting. You can start the heat on medium until the butter completely melts, then turn it down to "warm" or "low."

The butter will first melt down into a liquid or butter fat. It will then begin to turn foamy on top. Skim the foam off the top with a spoon and discard it in the trash or a separate container.

The butter oil will turn a translucent golden-yellow color. You will see a brown crust beginning to collect on the bottom of the pan as the ghee continues to cook. These are the milk solids browning and it is the part of ghee that gives the characteristic nutty-flavor. You don't want this browned component added to your ghee. 

Once the ghee fully cooks, leave the browns on the bottom and pour the golden-yellow liquid fat into a clean glass jar. You will need a pint-size jar to store the ghee. You can use a fine-sieve or cheesecloth over a strainer to pour the ghee through into the jar.

The ghee has been cooked to remove all the milk solids so only the pure milk-fat is left in the finished product. Because the solids have been removed, ghee with not spoil easily and you can leave it out at room temperature for several weeks. This makes it convenient to use for sauteing vegetables or meats. The other benefit of ghee is that it has a higher smoke point than regular butter with the milk solids having been removed. You could use it for stir-frying, drizzling over cooked veggies or meats, sauteing or even frying. It imparts a rich, nutty flavor to the foods cooked with it and if you use good quality organic and grass-fed butter, it also provides more vitamins such as vitamin A and a better Omega-3 profile than conventional butter.

With GAPS meals, add about a tablespoon to any bowl of broth or soup for additional healthy fats in your diet. You can begin adding ghee to your meals on Stage 1 or 2 and it is one of the first oils to begin adding to your meals, before coconut oil and olive oil. I started adding ghee to my bowls of soup this past Tuesday. It makes the soup taste extra creamy and rich. Super delicious. :)