We recently received a question from a reader who had bought a jar of ghee. She was curious how long it would last in the fridge, and what she could use it for. Sara writes:
I also got a jar of ghee; how long will it last in my fridge, and what would be good uses for it (especially ones I might not think of!)
First off, what is ghee anyway?
When you melt butter and let it boil for a little while, the water will gradually evaporate and the milk protein and solids will settle down into the bottom and be strained away. The butter fat that is left will be solid at room temperature, and since the moisture content is very low and there are no more milk solids left in it, it can be kept for a long time without refrigeration.
This process was used primarily in the Middle East and South Asia to preserve dairy. Ghee is used as the primary cooking fat and even as lamp oil.
Ghee will last for a very long time without going rancid, although I do keep mine in the fridge to prolong its life. It should last as long as you need it to: months and months at least. You can use it as a cooking oil anywhere else you would use butter or oil: cooking vegetables, frying rice before steaming it, or searing meat. Since it doesn't have the milk solids of butter, you can fry with it at higher temperatures without it smoking. It is very high in fat of of course, so do use it with good judgment!
Readers, how do you use ghee?
Related: Word of Mouth: Ghee
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You're also gonna want to use it sparingly, since, you know, it'll eventually make your heart stop beating.
Use it sparingly, but you can basically use it for anything you would use butter in cooking, though certainly not at a 1:1 ratio. You can put it on toast, you can use it to make your scrambled eggs, you can sautee a piece of chicken in it... Only thing I don't know is how it would translate into baking.
I keep some in the fridge and substitute it for oil in any Indian-inspired cooking I do. I make yellow rice with diced onions, garlic, turmeric, cloves and cardamom, sauteeing everything together in some ghee before cooking the rice. Or in any spicy lentil dishes, curries, etc.
Indian food and lighting oil lamps. Those are the two primary uses. Other than carefully substituting for butter or oil in other recipes, I'm not quite sure there is much else you can do with it.
Indian food recipes! ...
We make ghee (really easy) and use it in this dish:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/eggplant-in-curry-coconut-sauce-recipe/index.html
sooo good.
Ghee keeps for a very long time in the fridge, since it was originally made to keep butter from spoiling in hot climates. You can use it anywhere you would need a cooking "oil" and of course in any recipe that calls for clarified butter.
I would use it as I use any oil: primarily for sautéing things. (I'm not a baker.)
Interesting that this came up: my wife is cutting dairy from her diet, but since all the milk proteins are removed, I think clarified butter (aka ghee) would be allowed. (It's an allergy thing, which implicates the proteins.)
You don't have to store ghee in the fridge. My family is of Indian origin, and we make this stuff at home (by melting/clarifying butter for hours, and then waiting for it to harden) and we store it in a big jar for months in the cupboard. I don't recommend making it - it smells gross!
Sundays at Moosewood has a great recipe for Ethiopian-style spiced clarified butter...I imagine you would just simmer the spices in this stuff and strain it. I have some homemade in my fridge and use it to cook greens. It's really good!
here's one version:
http://www.whats4eats.com/sauces/niter-kibbeh-recipe
If you make any chapatis or paranthas, a small dollop of ghee or white butter makes a fantastic topping. Also great on some dals (lentils) -- try it on the darker ones, like maa ki dal.
In all of the above the ghee is added to individual taste and served immediately, before it melts away.
Unlike Kosha, I would recommend making it over buying it. I like the scent of butter baking in my oven (one of the methods for clarifying the butter), and the product is much more delicate in odor than the storebought kind, which I found not-quite-but-almost revolting. And clarifying butter is startlingly easy to do.
My mother in law especially likes ghee spread on fresh rotis.
It is actually not advised to keep ghee in the fridge because taking it out and putting it back into the fridge causes condensation to occur in the container and water in the ghee will make it go rancid more quickly. Additionally, you should always try to use a clean, dry spoon when taking ghee out of the container to decrease chances of rancidity.
With reference to the comment posted by Schwartz on April 24th 2009 that it will eventually make your heart stop beating is so completely and utterly wrong. We have been misled for years by "experts" on how bad animal fat is for us and big businesses have made vast profits from selling us low fat products that are killing us with hydrogenated oils and triglycerides etc. This article should put your mind at ease for those of us that enjoy a healthy diet that EXCLUDES low fat products.
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/food-and-drink/features/fat-is-back-rediscover-the-delights-of-lard-dripping-and-suet-1642912.html
I've been using it in any phyllo-based recipe that calls for "clarified butter" - baklava, spanakopita, hortopita, etc.
And, of course, when I make curries.
It is good for you ! according to Dr OZ http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/doctors-bust-medical-myths-and-lies?page=13#copy