I made my second batch of ghee yesterday. Both times it was fantastic. I searched all over the web to find methods, and the easiest is this.

Place 1 lb butter (some say unsalted but salted worked fine for me) in a big pan, say 3-4 quart saucepan. Melt it down and keep the heat so it simmers. In about 15 minutes it will foam up. Let it cook a smidgeon more and turn off the heat. You can know it is done because the little bits on the bottom have turned brownish-amber and the whole thing smells like fresh croissants. Let it cool for about 30 minutes. Strain into a clean container through 4 layers of clean cheesecloth. You don't need to refrigerate this. It is a dream to cook with and tastes heavenly on veggies or meats.

Amazing that something so delicious is so good for you (in moderation).

Cathy (helpertouch)

Thanks for sharing your prep method for making ghee.

Alia

Fantastic!  Moderation???  What's that!!  

What about the foam? Can you keep that?

I'm making ghee right now and all the foam on top is turning brown... oh dear.

In th past I've just skimmed the foam off but it got to be rather tedious, so I asked the chef at this Indian cooking class that I took how to make it and she just told me to slowly melt it over an hour and everything should sink to the bottom and then you just pour out the rest.

What's happening with mine?

Shoot! I just burnt it...

In my experience, the lowest possible temperature should be used. I have an electric stove currently, and I use the smallest burner on the lowest setting. It usually takes about 40 minutes for the popping and crackling to stop (and that's after the butter has completely melted in the pan).

Drea, this is the method that I've found works best for me too.  We actually found an inexpensive hot plate electric burner just so we could make ghee on it.  (We have a gas stove.)  To distribute the heat evenly to the pan, Mr. Kk got a round, 1" thick piece of stainless steel (I have zero idea where he finds these things) that we put on to top of the burner.  We call it our "steel hockey puck" and use it whenever we need even heat distribution during cooking.

KK, do you use the 'hockey puck' on the gas stove and the electric hot plate?

Quoted from outdoordrea

KK, do you use the 'hockey puck' on the gas stove and the electric hot plate?

Yes.  Mr. KK uses it in cooking to evenly distribute heat to the bottom of the pan.  And I don't think it's a full 1" thick.  More like 3/4" or less.

Without going to go find it and measure, it's about 5" across.

If you think you've burned it, simply strain it immediately.  You may have a deep color and caramel flavor, but usually the fat comes through fine!

If you leave it in the pot, it'll pick up the burnt flavor and may have to be thrown out (cry!).

The foam is milk solids, you do not want to have those and that's one reason to cook the butter.  The other cool thing is that antioxidants are formed when cooking the butter to turn it into ghee/clarified butter.

The only difference I've noticed when using slightly brown ghee is that it smokes easier than more yellow ghee...

its about time! with everybody saying it was easy...I got the nerve....you see I was spoiled, buying it at whole foods, but this, my first batch is wayyyy better! Yes, I cooked to a toasty golden as many advised, and drained it through a metal coffee filter....so delicious!!! Its a little like butterscotch....oh my.

Now aren't you glad you took the plunge? Way to go!

Congratulations that your first attempt at making ghee turned out well.

Alia

Great job...tastes like butterscotch...yes.  Yummilicious on many a thing.

Debra

Jayney, glad your ghee turned out so well!!!! Now aren't you feeling silly you were so afraid and waited so long.    I can say that cause that's how *I* was. I had a HUGE fear of making it!     I keep it made up all the time now.
Hey in the morning.... melt you a tablespoon or so and let it cool just enough to eat/drink. Uhhhhhhh, what a way to start the day!!!  

I love the huge cost savings!

What about the taste comparison between store bought and homemade? I've only ever made it at home.

I think the store bought is more "pure" and has no butter taste left in it.  That's my impression anyway.

Congratulations, jayney! Way to go! I love ghee better than butter now. In fact, butter almost tastes 'raw' to me! Ghee is wonderful stuff.

I tried something the other night that has me hooked now . . . I added a bit of ghee to some walnut butter just to see how the tastes go together. All I can say is WOW. A match made in heaven! Or at least in my kitchen  Yummy! And good for you too! I had some on a slice of ezekiel bread toast as a substitute for peanut butter and to me, it tasted BETTER than peanut butter! Now I'm going to try it in the almond butter/walnut butter mix Victoria suggested in another thread.

yeah, its yummier than store bought ...but to be honest theres a texture...subtly gritty...like maybe the metal filter isn't quite enough...or is that how it comes out?

My ghee comes out "slightly" gritty and I use a coffee filter inside of a metal sieve. But I don't mind.

yeah, I really don't mind either.

Quoted from jayney-O

yeah, its yummier than store bought ...but to be honest theres a texture...subtly gritty.

Mine does too, and it seems different butters tend to 'produce' more of it than others. But once you *melt* it.......all gone and just heaven.  

I've found that salted and/or non-organic butters tend to have that gritty texture. I'm not an organic-only person by any means--can't afford to be --but it does pay to buy the best unsalted butter you can get to make ghee, imo anyway.