Gee, what’s the deal with ghee?

By now, you’re probably aware that at IQS, we love cooking with butter and olive oil – and we use them, a lot.

But we also get asked regularly about ghee. What’s our stance? Do we use it? Is it tasty? Is it healthy? The answer to all these questions is – of course!

Here’s why you should grab a jar next time you’re at the market, or even better, make your own at home…

But first up, what is ghee?

It’s clarified butter, which is traditionally used in Indian cooking. To make it, cow or buffalo milk is slowly melted and simmered, milk solids start to separate from the butter resulting in a pot of a translucent golden liquid-y goodness, which is then cooled to become ghee. You can then use the stuff just like butter.

Next: why do we love it?

1. It’s lactose and casein free! This is because the clarification renders out most, if not all of the lactose, so people who are lactose intolerant can usually eat it with no worries.
2. It’s healing for the gut. Ghee’s oily properties keep the digestive tract lubricated, helping to reduce flatulence and bloating.
3. It reduces constipation. Ghee is used as a light laxative in Ayurvedic medicine to help soften your number two’s.
4. It can be cooked at high temperatures. This is due to its high smoke point and means it’s safe to fry with and it won’t oxidise into free radicals like other vegetable-based oils.
5.  It’s nutritious! High in fat-soluble vitamins, ghee contains vitamins A, D, E and K.
6. It wards off colds and flu. Ghee promotes the production of butyrate, a short chain fatty acid which boosts the immune system by regulating immune cells.
7. It doesn’t need to be stored in the fridge. The milk solids in ghee are removed during processing so it prevents spoilage and gives it a super long shelf life.
8.  It balances Vata and Pitta Ayurvedic doshas. This is due to its sweet taste, cold nature and oily, heavy qualities. If this sounds like a foreign language to you, read Sarah’s research on Ayurvedic doshas.

But, you should be careful….

Ghee is highly concentrated and thus also concentrates toxins if made from impure ingredients. For this reason, we recommend using high-quality ghee from grass-fed cows. We’re obsessed with cultured and hand-churned Pepe Saya Ghee. No paid endorsement here… we just love their stuff!

But, if you want to make ghee yourself, it’s simple. Click the image below for an easy ghee recipe:

Homemade Ghee

Do you use ghee in your cooking? Let us know what you think of it in the comments below…

We originally published this post in May 2015. We updated it in July 2017.

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