The Golden Elixirs Part 2

Ghee is a Hindi word. In India, the golden oil is used for cooking, and healing the body as well. Inside and Out you might say…. GHEE

*melt unsalted organic butter super slowly on low heat for 30-40 minutes.

* I usually make 1 3/4 lbs. of butter because it fits perfectly into a 2C. measuring cup

*skim off foamy layer and milk protein (white stuff that will eventually fall to the bottom)

*don't burn *pour through several layers of cheese cloth (to catch any/all milk proteins)

*store in a glass container *refrigerate -or not

*use for cooking, spreading (or dolloping?)

The difference between ghee and clarified butter is ghee is actually more clarified! The process of making ghee renders the golden butterfat from the milk proteins. This creates a dairy product that is lactose free for those who are intolerant. Bonus! I encourage you to make your ghee at home, but if you’d rather not, the only ghee on the market I have found to be tasty is Bazaar of India. Check out their website on my “In List”. It is mail order, but the quality is amazing.

For the perfect container to store your ghee, Pyrex makes a 2 cup measuring vessel with a plastic lid that sells for around $8 available at Target. Get used to melting down some butter and keeping a supply of ghee in your home. If it seems like a lot of work to make something from scratch, you need to shift your thought process. Have control over what goes into your body, and lovingly care for yourself and your family. Once you understand the numerous benefits to putting ghee into your diet there will be no fuss about the few minutes it takes to prepare.

Here’s the breakdown: Ghee is 65% good saturated fat, 25% monosaturated fat (olive), and 5% polyunsaturated fat (sesame, sunflower). The good saturated fat contains 89% easy-to-digest short chain fatty acids including 3% linoleic acid (anti-oxidant), and Vitamin A,D,E, and K. If you are a die-hard dieter and still think that “fat” is bad for you, it’s time for an update. The real demon is sugar, and its friend “white carbo”. I’m not saying there are not bad fats, in fact let me name them for you. Hydrogenated, transfatty, heat treated, solvent extracted, non organic fats are the fats to avoid, not because eating them will make you fat, rather eating them will damage your health. The fats you should embrace are ghee, olive oil, organic virgin coconut oil, sesame, and foods containing good fats like, fish for their Omega oil, nuts, seeds, avocados and flax seed oil.

Now back to ghee, my favorite fat. Glee for ghee! It has nutritional value, stimulates secretion of stomach acids fostering digestion, helps a sluggish constitution, can heal ulcers, increases memory retention and learning capacities, healthy for the eyes, aids in the absorption of vitamins and minerals, strengthens the immune system, and contains anti-viral butyric acid. Start melting that butter, now! Ideal for cooking or sautéing, ghee has a high smoking point. Most recipes that call for oil can be replaced with ghee. Or simply spread it on your toast, use it to make popcorn, brownies, melt it on oatmeal, the possibilities are many. In fact, I’ve fed a tiny amount to my cat Mabel when she has hairballs. I think she makes those horrid gagging noises just to get more ghee. Either way it works. Like jojoba, ghee is used in Indian beauty remedies for the skin, and also as a treatment for burns and blisters. Two golden elixirs with numerous benefits, jojoba oil and ghee will keep your body healthy inside and out!