ghee

This is butter that has been so well clarified that you can even deep-fry in it. Because it is totally free of all milk solids, it does not need refrigeration. Ghee has a special, nutty taste. If you cannot buy it, here is how to make your own:

Take a pound of the best quality unsalted butter that you can find. Put it in a heavy, smallish pot and let it melt over a low flame. Soon it will begin to simmer. Let it simmer on low heat for about 45 minutes (timing really depends on the amount of water in the butter), or until the milky solids turn brownish and either cling to the sides of the pot or else fall to the bottom. Because you have to boil all the water away without letting the butter brown, you must watch it, especially toward the end of the cooking time. Now strain the ghee through a quadrupled layer of cheesecloth. Homemade ghee is best stored covered in the refrigerator. Like butter, it will not spoil.

Ghee (?), n. [Hind. ghi clarified butter, Skr. ghta.]

Butter clarified by boiling, and thus converted into a kind of oil.

Malcom.

© Webster 1913.