Unsalted

Grade AA
Butter

Oven Method
Time

Stove Method
Time

Yield

1 pound

1 to 1
hours

1 hour

1 2/3 ups (
lb.)

2 pounds

1 to 2
hours

1 hours

3c. (1 lbs.)

3 pounds

2 to 3
hours

2 hours

5c. (2 lbs.)

5 pounds

3 to 4
hours

3 hours

9c. (4 1bs.)

10 pounds

6 to 7
hours

5 to 5
hours

17c. (7
lbs.)

Ghee (Oven Method)

Equipment:
4- to 5-quart heavy saucepan or pressure cooker
Fine-mesh wire skimmer or large metal spoon (not slotted)
Ladle
Large sieve or strainer, lined with 3 thicknesses of cheesecloth
or 1 thickness of good quality paper towel (Don't use the kind with
plastic reinforcing threads.)
Clean metal can, glass jar, or earthenware crock with a tightfitting lid
Small container for storing protein solids
1. Preheat the oven to 300 F. Fill a heavy, thick-walled saucepan
or pressure cooker with unsalted butter and place it, uncovered, in
the oven. Make sure to leave at least an inch or two above the
butter when filling the pan. Allow the butter to melt and clarify,
undisturbed, for the necessary amount of time (see chart). Check
smaller amounts periodically, but you can leave large amounts
overnight with the oven at 275" to 300" F. (If your heat's too high the
butter can catch fire. Careful!) When there's a layer of solid foam on
the surface, clear amber-gold ghee in the middle, and lumps of
golden-brown solids on the bottom, gently remove the pan from the
oven.

2. Skim the crusty foam from the surface with a fine-mesh wire
skimmer. If you don't have one, you can use a large metal spoon,
which is much less efficient and a little wasteful but adequate if used
carefully. Place the foam in a small container and save (see step 6).
3. Ladle the clear ghee into your can, jar, or crock through a
large sieve or strainer lined with 3 thicknesses of cheesecloth or 1
thickness of good quality paper towel. (Don't use a paper towel with
plastic reinforcing threads: the plastic will melt.) When you come
near the solids on the bottom of the pan, stop before you disturb
them.
4. Pour one or two cups of cold water into the pan and
refrigerate for a few hours, until the ghee floats to the top and forms
a solid layer. You can lift it off in a single piece and wash it under
cold running water. Pat the ghee dry with a paper towel and add it to
the ghee that has already been strained.
5. Cool the ghee to room temperature, uncovered. Store in an
airtight container in a cool, dark, dry place, or in a refrigerator. Ghee
that has been properly purified, filtered, and stored will last for
months.
6. Discard the remaining water in the pan and combine the
remaining solids at the bottom with the foam skimmed off from the
surface of the ghee. You can use the solids as a sandwich spread or
mix them into cooked vegetables, soups, and other dishes.
Refrigerated, the solids will keep for only 4 or 5 days, so use them
quickly.
Ghee (Stove Method)
Equipment: (same as oven method)
1. Place 1 to 5 pounds of butter into a large, heavy saucepan.
Heat over medium-high flame, stirring occasionally, until the butter
melts and comes to a boil. When the surface of the butter is covered
with a frothy white foam, reduce the heat to a very low temperature.
Simmer the butter, uncovered and undisturbed, until the gelatinous
protein solids have collected on the bottom of the pan and a thin
layer of pale golden, crusty solids has formed on the surface.
2. With the wire-mesh skimmer, skim off the thin crust on the
surface. How long you need to cook the ghee depends on how much
you make, but the ideal finished ghee is crystal-clear and pale in
color. Ghee becomes dark when cooked over too high a flame or
cooked too long. You may skim off the foam as it forms and hardens

and save it in a small container.

3-6. (Follow steps 3-6 in the oven method.)