Clarified Butter is a clear, pure form of butter with a nutty and rich taste that simply cannot be duplicated. Better known as Ghee.
Every Christmas, my Aunt Paula gives the gift of rendered butter. Perhaps you’ve heard of clarified butter or ghee but in my family, we call it Syrian butter. By removing or separating the milk solids and salts from the butter, you are left with a clear, pure form of butter with a nutty and rich taste that simply cannot be duplicated.
How To Make Clarified Butter (Ghee)
A clear, pure form of butter with a nutty and rich taste that simply cannot be duplicated. Better known as Ghee
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Servings:
Equipment
A Large Pot
Ingredients
- 4 pounds unsalted butter
Instructions
- Unwrap the butter.
- Put butter in heavy pan and place on high
- High heat until it all melts. Watch carefully.
- Turn heat to low and add 1 cup coarse wheat. Stir every now and then to keep the foam moving to the bottom to be absorbed by the wheat.IMPORTANT: Keep the heat low. Do not let it boil or burn the wheat. You want it to “smile” not bubble. This step takes 4 or 5 hours and pretty much takes care of itself if the temp is right. Just check in and give it a stir every hour or so.
- Eventually it will look like this. All of the gunk is at the bottom of the pan and the pure butter is on top. It is ready to be put in jars.
- Use a gallon pitcher with a strainer lined with 4 thickness of “butter” cheesecloth. Make sure you get butter cloth because it is much finer gauge than regular grocery store cloth. I buy it online from cheese making sites. It lasts forever.Use a big ladle or cup and dip and pour through the strainer into the pitcher.
- When the pitcher is full, pour the butter into canning jars
- Let it cool before you put the caps on
- Voila! All done. Store in the basement where it is cool.No need to refrigerate.
Nutrition
Serving: 1tablespoonCalories: 102kcalCarbohydrates: 1gProtein: 1gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 30mgSodium: 2mgPotassium: 3mgSugar: 1gVitamin A: 354IUCalcium: 3mgIron: 1mg
SHOW AND TELL ON INSTAGRAM!Show me your creation and rate it below! Mention @thelemonbowl or tag #thelemonbowl! I would LOVE to see!
I’ve been making my own ghee for over a year now and it’s totally worth the time and effort. I’ve turned 20 pounds of butter into ghee quite easily and it makes sense to do large batches. Ghee keeps for a long time. Just be sure to use a dry spoon. It also freezes beautifully.
Oh that’s awesome Jessica!
Liz, how long will the rendered butter be safe to store? Once it’s opened should it then be refrigerated? Love your site and recipes. Very similar to what I grew up with…No better food than our Lebanese Cuisine!
Honestly, we keep it around for months! Let’s say 3-6 months! :) Thank you so much Sylvia!
Hi, you’ve mentioned adding one cup of bulgar wheat, but I’m not sure how much butter you’ve used, so I’m not sure about the purportions. Can’t wait to use this!
Oh goodness – that’s about 20 pounds of butter!!
Thanks :) not sure we’ll need all that much!
What temp should you keep it under to prevent burning the butter?
Would a double boiler not get hot enough?
As stated in the recipe it’s very important to keep it on low! I don’t believe a double boiler would get hot enough but I’ve never tried. :) Good luck!! You’re going to love it!
Michigan girl in Arizona Visit weekly to take care of my folks Your cooking is fabulous
Thank you so much!! I love Arizona – I was born in Tucson!
What a great gift idea! Have you ever spiced the butter (I.e. Rosemary or garlic) when making it? Love the idea!
No I never have – this type of butter has so much nutty flavor I wouldn’t want to mask that or compete with it. BUT I love the idea of a flavored butter using regular butter!
Can you bake cookies and cakes with this rendered butter just the same as regular? or do you add something to replace the butter solids?
can you use to make mayonnaise??? just wondering about some flavored mayos.
I’m not sure – I never have!
I’m sitting here trying to mentally calculate how many pounds of butter she does at once, but lose track somewhere around 12. I can TOTALLY see myself doing this. How much does your Auntie do at once? And what is her yield (ish)???
Ok just spoke with my aunt and she usually does 20 pounds of unsalted butter which is the equivalent of 10 quarts. She said she usually ends up with 8 or 9 quarts of rendered butter. Does that help?? :)
Wow! Wheat in Ghee? Thanks for the heads up. I make my own but being gluten sensitive I’m always on the lookout for hidden wheat, never thought to look here. :)
Hi Sarah,
Can you please share how you make yours, I don’t fancy the idea of using wheat. Thanks a bunch! Liz – thank you for the info!
Hi Niki! You can skip the wheat portion! My Aunt does it to help the process but it is 100% optional. Follow the recipe the same way just skip the wheat step. :) Enjoy!!
This a very old method in India. But we never add wheat to it. Don’t have to add wheat.
Ahhh interesting!!!
Wow, I can’t believe how much she makes at once! No wonder it takes 4 to 5 hours. I have been making a small batch (1 lb) at a time and it takes about 1/2 hour. Yum!
I know – isn’t it insane? Her basement is lined with jars of it though which is fabulous for me – hahaha.
So does that mean this stuff doesn’t go bad quickly?
I keep mine in my pantry for up to a year! :)