ghee whiz

GHEE WHIZ

Ghee is an Indian ( dot, not feather ) food where butter is clarified and turned into a room temperature oil.  Besides the sexual positions manual and some wicked cool world destroyer gods, about the best thing their civilization ever offered the world was Ghee.  Is it as good as butter?  Perhaps if you live in the jungle and your village alternates between being underwater and not seeing rain for half a year, yes.  If you are a descendent of northern cultures, perhaps not so much.  But for an age in which there is no refrigeration-you know, the one coming up real soon-it is an alternative to regular butter you should consider.  If you don’t yet have a regular source of milk and hence butter, such as the time spent in a hidey hole waiting for the die-off to complete, ghee will give you a relatively cheap relatively complete protein source.  As we talked about yesterday, storage protein is expensive no matter how you do it.  Butter is a great alternative.

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But, is ghee butter or is it an oil?  Is it a complete protein like other animal foods?  Unfortunately, I’m not sure.  I spent an hour Google’ing on Ghee and it was a very frustrating experience with few complete answers other than how to make and preserve it.  Back thirty years ago I was really into alternate medicines and diets.  I read a lot on the subject.  One thing that became clear early on, even to my unschooled ignorant nineteen year old brain, was that most of the authors were friggin loony toons bat crap crazy.  Like Wiccan practitioners putting back dried dragon scales for their spells.  Every food they deem worthy is treated and preached as the elixir guaranteed to grant eternal life.  It is aggravating as hell.  You can’t get impartial or even scientifically researched information.  And that is what the ghee information was.  I couldn’t find out if it stored for only three months or as long as freeze dried foods if stored in the dark.  I couldn’t find out if it was a complete protein with all the essential amino acids.

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So, while I’ve done my best to present a balanced article, just keep in mind I’m going more on common sense than factual information.  The only information I have is incomplete and heresy.  To make ghee, start with unsalted butter ( some claim salted can be made to work but given the choice just go salt-less ).  Start at medium heat to melt your butter.  Start at a pound during your learning process.  You can increase the amount as long as your pan is big enough later on.  Once melted it will begin to bubble.  Turn it down enough to keep the butter from burning but high enough to keep bubbling.  Foam will rise to the top but you don’t need to skim it.  Just stir occasionally to help prevent burning.  A white substance will form on the bottom.  When you can see all the way to the bottom, and the white substance turns brown, it is done.  Let it cool down before pouring through cheesecloth in a wire mesh bowl.  Pour the clear liquid into jars and seal.  It is probably best to NOT refrigerate as you MUST avoid introducing water into your ghee ( possible condensation ).  It is like with mayonnaise.  Avoid ALL contamination to keep it from prematurely spoiling.  In the case of ghee this means all water as well.  NO water on your spoon getting it out to use.

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Now, you can hot water bath these cans of ghee for long life.  Two inches of water over the lids and on for ten minutes.  The author of that stressed the need to keep water out of the cans.  He used a hair drier to completely dry the lids and jars.  You can, in theory, also store long term without canning.  If ALL the water was removed in cooking and you store the oil completely in the dark ( not even artificial light ) it is claimed to last a very long time.  In my opinion, you can probably say it has a three month life if left on the counter in a lit kitchen after being cooked by an amateur.  If cooked properly and stored carefully, I would count on a few years as a reasonable time to store the ghee.

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 As far as the complete protein issue, while it would have been nice to know I can’t claim it is that much of a concern.  While eating with a grain, you should get a complete protein.  Kind of like eating rice with beans.  The combined ingredients equal an animal protein.  Of course, I stress the word SHOULD.  I’m not making a claim I’d put money on.  I just look at it like you are much closer to a better diet with ghee than with wheat only.  You’ll probably still need to stock lots of shortening.  Ghee is no where as cheap and you need a long term source of fat.  Look at ghee as your replacement of butter protein for long term food storage, not as a fat source alone.  Once those jars of ghee run out you’ll still need your fat. 

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I would still stockpile that butter in your freezer.  First off, you can get it on sale at Kroger on a semi-regular basis for $2.50.  Stock that freezer full just for daily eating.  Then, when the collapse comes you can turn what you have to into ghee to save it.  Of course, yes, you are canning ghee just for storage now, also.  You do need the practice.  So, when the power goes out for good all that meat gets canned and cooked and dried and all the butter gets cooked into ghee.  No waste, all bought on sale ( you could also be canning meat on a regular basis with no extra cost besides lids and propane-a negligible cost considering you bought the meat on sale ).  Doesn’t all that sound cheaper and tastier than freeze dried meat at $200 a case?  Yes, the freeze dried still wins in longevity and if nothing happens for thirty years you’ll have spent the same on butter with replacements as shelf life expires ( even though you can consume it so it really isn’t a waste of money ).  But I don’t think you’ll have the luxury of three decades and in the meantime you’ll have multitudes of calories for the same cost.  Go ghee rather than freeze dried.

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