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[LowSlowJoe]

Recently I was in Costco, and like I often do, was walking down isles, when something caught my eye.   It was this big container of Nanak Desi Ghee.

Now, I vaguely remembered hearing a little about ghee, and me being always looking for something interesting to cook with , I bought a container.

 I first thought it would spread a bit like butter, but it didn't.  I did manage to get enough on some bread that I was able to make myself a Rubin using it , instead of butter, but I wasn't really satisfied with how it spread.   Being 'clarified' butter, I figured it would be smoother, softer at room temperature.  This stuff was kinda grainy and not really very soft.

  So, is it just the Ghee that I bought that  is like this? or what?

   For that mater, convince me or help me to understand what all the fuss is about Ghee in the first place.

   When I tasted some, just by itself, I didn't get this 'wow' thought that I've read about.  Supposedly it was/is supposed to taste kinda nutty and flavorful. The stuff I have, has very little taste at all really.

   I tried melting some in the microwave a little. That did improve the texture , got it more like I had expected, and maybe the taste might have improved slightly too, I'm not sure how that would be. 

  So, what are your thoughts on Ghee?  I have about a quart of this stuff and not sure what I'm going to do with it

[bregent]

What color is the product?

I saw that at Costco and was tempted to get it, the price was good, but I don't use enough of it to make it worthwhile. I just make my own in small quantities. How nutty the flavor is depends on how long you cook it.  If you just heat till the fat separates from the solids, it won't have that nutty flavor. If you heat it slowly for hours, it will start to get color and that's where you get the flavor.

I use it mostly for pan frying - as it has a much higher smoke point than butter because the milk solids are removed. There's a guy on PMDC site that has a good tutorial on it - he makes a ton.

[LowSlowJoe]

it's yellow...

[bregent]

Yeah, that's too light to have anything other than butter flavor. Here's a link to a ghee post at PMDC. You can see the color is much darker. Hope this doesn't violate any rules, please remove if it does: pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php?topic=50618.0

[pmillen]

Like a lot of still-eaten foods (pickles, sour kraut, lutefisk...), ghee is a centuries-old method of preserving butter without refrigeration.  It'll keep for months in the refrigerator.  Use it in place of butter for frying, sautéing and pan searing.  It'll take a lot more heat than butter without smoking or burning.

Some steak-cooking contest participants paint their finished products with it.  I don't know what the judges think about it.  I think the steaks look like they've been lacquered.

[LowSlowJoe]

Interesting.   What I was most surprised by with the Ghee I bought, was/is the texture.   I'll have to take a photo of it tonight up close.   It looks like yellow cream of wheat.  It's got this odd granular texture to it.  I would have assumed it would be this thick but smooth texture.

In some of those photos  from the pizza forum, it's not really that dark.  The first set is very dark, but not all of the various sets.

[LowSlowJoe]

I guess the really good stuff ( stuff that's most healthy for you), comes from cows that are 100% grass feed.   Not sure if that stuff is easy to come by.

 I do intend to make some of my own, just to see how much different it might taste.  One article I read said that homemade tends to be a lot more flavorful than most commercially made Ghee.

[hughver]

I use ghee from the Asian store all of the time in place of butter. Ghee for the most part is not spreadable, virtually a liquid when warm. The ghee that I buy is not yellow, but it is not brown either, more of a greyish white. From what I have read, ghee will keep for up to three months in a dark pantry/closet or even longer in the refrigerator. I keep my main supply is in the refrigerator and a smaller container of softened in the pantry for daily use.

[LowSlowJoe]

I wonder what the shelf life would be if you vacuum sealed some of it.  I mean, like room temperature shelf life in vacuum seal pouch.

[bregent]

I wonder what the shelf life would be if you vacuum sealed some of it.  I mean, like room temperature shelf life in vacuum seal pouch.

If you vacuum seal it when it's really hot, probably a good long time. But I keep the homemade stuff in the pantry for months. The stuff I make is also pretty gritty, but doesn't matter since it always gets melted for my uses.  I use it mostly for frying and searing steaks, but it's also good for grilled cheese, patty melts, because it's ready to spread on bread right from the pantry. 

[glitchy]

I use it mostly for frying and searing steaks, but it's also good for grilled cheese, patty melts, because it's ready to spread on bread right from the pantry.

Just curious what temps do you use it at for frying and for searing steaks? Really curious on the steaks I guess, are you searing below the smoke point or above?

[Bentley]

Milk fat with no salt...It probably does lack punch.

[bregent]

I use it mostly for frying and searing steaks, but it's also good for grilled cheese, patty melts, because it's ready to spread on bread right from the pantry.

Just curious what temps do you use it at for frying and for searing steaks? Really curious on the steaks I guess, are you searing below the smoke point or above?

For steaks, right when it starts to smoke. I think the smoke point is around 485F.

[Bobitis]

Learn something new every day.

I would have thought that ghee would be more like animal fat in consistency. 

[LowSlowJoe]

I expected it to be a little softer at room temperature,  a little creamier