Ghee (or its close sibling clarified butter (see Whole30 book for the difference) is simply a way to get the rich taste of butter without the milk solids. If you have trouble with dairy in general or you’re doing the Whole30 to test for sensitivity, using this allows you to still have “butter” as an option for your healthy fat for cooking and eating.
I’m all about savings and shortcuts so when I saw the price of most ghee I said NOPE that’s not gonna happen. I need to make it myself if I’m gonna have it at all. It took a few tries to get it down pat, but now it’s a no-brainer. If I can do this, YOU can do this, too. Let’s look at how to clarify butter yourself (with a shortcut, of course).
Separating the milk solids from the butter
The milk solids you want to get rid of are white. If you melt the butter slowly enough, you’ll see it’s yellower and clearer at the top and gets whiter near the bottom. Once your butter gets hot enough to bubble, that white part (the milk solids) will start to rise to the top.
Get a bowl or something to put the milk solids in and dip those out of the pot. They sort of hang together if you slowly skim your spoon across the top and push them together. Yes, you’ll invariably lose a little butter in with the solids. But it’s really negligible.
Saving the good stuff
Have a pint jar handy. When enough of the solids are out and you can reach the clear yellow butter, switch spoons (the one you were using will now be covered in sticky white milk solids) and start dipping the butter into your jar. Sometimes I find there’s even a point at which I turn off the burner just to get the remaining solids to “settle down.”
When you really can’t separate the two parts any more, it’s time to strain the last bits through cheesecloth IF you really want to grab the last of the butter. Here’s where I shortcut. I just don’t…it’s that easy. I do a really good job of separating what I can and then I simply sacrifice the last part of the butter.
Whole process took me 25 minutes…but then I was going slowly and stopping for pictures for this post (hopefully, you won’t have to do that).
It’s like melted gold…that’s saves you money!
As you can see in my picture, I got about 1-2/3 cup out of my 1 pound (2 cups) of butter sticks. I usually see ghee at my stores around $7.99-10.99 for a 12-ounce jar. Butter is $2.50-3.00 for a pound at Aldi but then “spend” a little more on time. I figure I’m still coming out ahead (Melissa Urban agrees…3rd section down here).
You can leave it on the counter, and it solidifies moderately but remains soft. Let your milk solids completely cool, then scoop into a baggie and seal to throw them away cleanly.
Are you game to clarify butter yourself? Let me know how that goes cause I’m rooting for you! And if you like that, you gotta try making mayo at home, too! (But be sure you learn from my mistakes first!)
