Unless you’re already familiar with the fantastic Asian and Middle Eastern cuisines, there’s a good chance you’ve never heard of something called Ghee before. In a simple sentence, one can make ghee by simmering butter and removing the liquid residue.
At this point you might be wondering, “how can it be a butter alternative if it’s made from butter?“.
Good point! It is a viable alternative to regular butter because during the process of simmering and removing any of the liquid residue you’ll obtain a new product that is effectively lactose free.
Lactose free? That’s amazing!
Yes, it is! This means that even if you belong to the group of those who are lactose intolerant, the quantity of lactose present in the final product is usually negligible (around 0.5% of what was originally present in butter) and safe to be consumed without any of the well-known side-effects. It does however must be noted that Ghee is rich in saturated fat, so keep in that mind when adding it to your recipes.
In the Indian and South Asian cuisines is traditionally made from unsalted butter, which results in a product with a light flavour. Spices, seasoning, or simply salt can be added to enrich the resulting flavour. The quality of the butter originally used in the process is the determinant factor for the final texture, colour, and taste.
Making or buying it ready?
If you prefer to buy ghee instead of making it at home, make sure you get one from the list of brands below as they have pure and organic butter in their composition:
- Ancient Organics
- Purity Farm
- Pure Indian Foods
- Organic Valley
- Nanaki
I’d love to know what you like to prepare with ghee. 🙂
Please leave a comment below with your favourite dish and maybe I can create a video teaching how to prepare it!