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Sunday, April 1, 2012

Homemade Ghee or Clarified Butter - Random Sunday


I was told long ago during my teenage years that Ghee is made from the fat of the goat, hence the strong smell.
Did I believe it? Nope. Cos I saw a picture of the cow on the can, so how can the fat be of goat, LOL

Last year, at a Mamak stall (Indian muslim eatery) I ordered a Roti Ghee, and the roti maker was actually asking me to make sure I wanted Ghee, another lady thought he was asking her..quickly said, "No Ghee. I don't wan't goat fat."

In church also, me and a lady was talking about making fluffy cookies and I mentioned ghee, quickly another (who heard us) said, "No... so smelly." So, I asked her why is it smelly? "It's made from Goat, too  'sou' (smelly term used to describe mutton)". When I told her, no, it's actually made from butter, she was surprised because she loved butter but hates ghee.

So, now let me break the goat fat myth for you. Ghee is not goat or mutton fat. It's pure milk fat. Not beef fat. No. It's Milk Fat. Milk!

One can actually make ghee at home, if you need only some for baking, so that you need not buy one whole can of it. Take note that I started with 90gm, but was left with only 60gm after straining. 33% gone. So start with more to anticipate the loss.


This boiling process won't take long. For 90gm of butter, it took me just a few minutes from start to end. Some methods call for skimming off the bubbles as you boil the butter. But I refuse, because I might be skimming away the butter too. Butter is very very expensive nowadays, one block can easily cost me 2 lunches (chap fan)

Make sure the strainer is not touching the base of the vessel so that the strained hot ghee may drip down.


If you are lazy to do this, just head out and get your can of ghee. It's not cheap, but it's less work of course. If you can't finish the can, then just fry eggs, make french toast or cook pasta with it. Delicious!

Oh yes Malaysians, take note that one particular brand is much much cheaper than others? Windmill is a blended ghee, meaning it's not pure milk fat, that's why it's cheaper. So for those of you who wants the real stuff, look out for the label, don't buy BLENDED ghee. But if you don't mind, then it's ok.


Have a gheeriffic day today 
: p

19 comments:

  1. Yes,Wendy.You are right.Ghee not from animal fat.Cos my mum is a vegetarian.She also take ghee.See you making ghee...suddenly i think of nasi biryani....yum..yum.... :p

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  2. Any homemade food is absolute "thumbs up".

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  3. Hody,
    Wahahah.. macam ini pun boleh, nasi biryani pulak. Good good, will that be ur next post? kekekeke.


    Mel,
    If one needs a lot, then homemaking ghee is a bit ridiculous. It's when you need only some, that's when homemaking is more economical.

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  4. Hi Wendy

    Thank u for the information.

    So, I wud like to know whether ghee is healthier or butter. I love cookies and cakes but don't like the fattening butter. Hnece, my bakings usually confined to breads, chiffon, swissrolls and steamed kuehs. If ghee is less fattening, I will want to bake more cakes cookies.

    Blessings
    Priscilla Poh
    Singapore

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  5. it's funny that when ghee is mentioned, i also associate that with indian kind of food stuff..maybe becos mostly heard that indian cooking uses ghee, i'mnot sure of the smell though..do they have a particular smell? hey, daiso now is in ipoh..i think you know where i want to tell u.

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  6. Hai....can I ask how u create a (recent post) column n a column for (type of food)? Thx..

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  7. Another word for it I think is clarified butter.

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  8. Thank you for sharing this valuable information on ghee with us :)

    Regards,
    sally

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  9. Priscilla Poh,
    Ghee is definitely more fattening as it is 100% milk fat and butter is 81% milk fat.
    Make substitutions with due consideration as ghee gives pastry similiar texture like how lard will do to pastries, extra flaky and tender.


    Lena,
    Very sou, stronger than butter and I like it :p


    微微恩 ,
    Recent post is a "gadget" found in your list of gadgets
    Type of food is create using labels gadget.



    E,
    Oh yes it is, the title of this post says so too ;)



    Sally,
    U're welcomed.

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  10. the other day i made Madelines with ghee :) smells very strong

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  11. Thank u Wendy for the response.

    Can u advise me since that I can use ghee as substitution to obtain flaky pastries and tender cake, can I replace shortening with ghee.

    I m very health conscious and very frighten of the word 'shortening'. In a sense, I always avoid nice recipes calling for usage of shortening, eg. spiral pastry, dim sum egg tart shell. If I can replace with ghee, I will love to try out those 'sinful' recipes which use shortening.

    Thank you again.

    Blessings
    Priscilla Poh

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  12. Priscilla Poh,
    The only time I used ghee (becos I had extra and used it in place of butter) in pastries, it was so so flaky that my tarts almost crumbled, just like lard pastries.
    I can't give you a definite answer, but it will be very very fragile, unless water is added into the pastry. The effect is like lard, but with a milky smell only.

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  13. thanks for the info, i nearly throw away the whole block of ghee before i read your post, as it kept staring at me when i open my fridge and i dont know what to do with it... initially bought it thinking to make cookies with ghee for CNY...

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  14. Thank you for sharing this recipe

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  15. Can I wait the boiled butter to cool down then only pour it into a paper strainer?? Thank you.....^ ^

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  16. Judy,
    No. It will slow down the straining process. Cooled fats are usually thicker and harder to strain properly.

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  17. amazing!!! Thank u so much for posting :)

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