Have you ever had a recipe call for clarified butter? If you have, and if you’re like me, you’ve tried to make clarified butter yourself. For a recipe that contains only a single ingredient, it can be quite the challenge to produce successfully. There’s a definite possibility of burning the butter and having to start over, or perhaps you go to the other extreme and don’t cook it long enough. And trying to pour off the clarified butter while leaving the milk solids behind is no picnic, either. There are commercial clarified butters, but I was suspicious of them until I tried the ghee (Indian clarified butter) from Pure Indian Foods of Princeton Junction, NJ. This ghee is produced only from certified organic, unsalted butter, which is made from the non-homogenized milk of grass-fed cows. The company also uses only butter produced from spring through the fall, so they can be sure the cows have been pastured and consuming fresh grass. The ghee is offered only in glass bottles, not plastic containers.
Making ghee is a time-consuming endeavor, but if you feel inclined to try it a good recipe can be found on blog.asmartmouth.com.
Why is any of this important? For starters, it results in a delicious ghee. Although it’s grainy when solid, when this ghee is heated, it melts into a perfect smoothness. It elevates the taste of many dishes; even a humble lentil soup can be transformed by the addition of good ghee. Pure Indian Foods ghee has a high smoke point, so it’s great for frying foods, too. If you visit this site regularly, you know we support the idea of organic foods. The company is concerned with the possibility of chemicals leaching into their ghee from plastic bottles, hence the glass containers in which it’s sold. Additionally, some people believe in the nutritional superiority of grass-fed dairy products, citing their higher levels of Omega-3 fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid (CLA). Finally, under the Vedic belief system, ghee is considered a sacred, healing food. In fact, Pure Indian Foods only makes their ghee on waxing or full moon days which are considered auspicious.
On the Pure Indian Foods website, you can find a good amount of recipes to make dishes as delicious-looking as these.
I don’t mind admitting that I’m not particularly familiar with the Vedic system, and I don’t know as much as I should about grass-fed vs. grain-fed dairy products. But I have used this ghee to great effect in several recipes. A little goes a long way, and it keeps for a year under refrigeration (if you’re going to use it up relatively quickly, you don’t even need to refrigerate it). Yes, online ordering is available, and the website lists recipes, as well as more information on ghee vs. butter, etc. Visit the website, and reap the benefits of a company that’s been making this product since 1889!
