Ghee – clarified butter or butter oil – is a golden fat, an excellent food, medicine and cosmetic. The making of ghee can be seen as an alchemical process in which a less valuable, more robust butter is transformed into yellow liquid gold. As an Ayurvedic practitioner, I am a devoted fan of ghee and this love has lasted almost nine years. Why do I respect ghee so much?
The article appeared in the Spring 2018 issue of Hingele pai magazine and is published here with comments
. Numerous healing properties
Ghee contributes to your health in countless ways and is also suitable for most people who cannot tolerate the casein or lactose found in milk, as these have been removed in the ghee-making process. The quality of the raw material – or – is important. Idealghee can be obtained from the milk fat of a cow raised on grass and kept with love.
- It is absorbed when taken internallyghee through the digestive tract and all tissues, nourishing, healing, rejuvenating and renewing the skin, plasma and blood, fat, muscle, nerve and bone tissue, bone marrow and gametes supporting fertility and immunity.
- Ayurvedic knowledge helps ghee channel the power of herbs and healing spices into the deeper tissues of the body. Medicinal herbs and spices togethergheewhen taken with , the latter helps to direct them to where they are needed in the body.
- Supports the immune system.
- Ghee improves intellect, brain activity, memory, eyesight, makes the voice stronger and the tone of the voice more beautiful and helps digest fats, reducing blood cholesterol content in moderate consumption. According to research, it canghee prevent the formation of cancer cells and act as an antiviral.
- Ghee when consumed in moderation, it acts as a reducer of intensity within the body or as a supporter of gentle digestion – whatever someone needs at the moment. In this way promotesghee the body’s homeostasis, or self-healing ability, and guides us to the golden mean of moderation, helping to create peace in digestion and mind.Tip: Relieves when used externallyghee mild skin burns due to the cooling effect, helps prevent blisters and reduces scars.Ghee suitable, for example, for the prevention of pregnancy scars and sunburn. I amgheesuccessfully used instead of sunscreen in the Alps on both her and her child’s face to protect against the sun, wind and cold.2. Indispensable in the kitchenGhee makes food delicious and is indispensable in our kitchen. In addition, it supportsghee digestion, or in other words, lights the digestive fire:gheefood prepared with ’ is easier to digest and absorb nutrients more easily.Gheehas two important advantages over vegetable oils. Most vegetable oils, except palm and coconut oil, become indigestible when heated. Another important advantage isghee long shelf life. Vegetable oils oxidize and fade quite quickly after opening the bottle. In general, for example, olive oil can be stored for 6 months after opening if properly stored, but linseed oil is very unstable and already melts under the press. Olive oil is very good, the best oil for cold use, seasoning and sauce. I myself am a dedicated user of olive oil in pesto, hummus, salads, drizzled over soup, etc. There is a lot of information on the internet that it is not good to heat olive oil. Olive oil can be used in hot food, poured over ready-made food to add richness and flavor, but it should not be used for frying. At the same time, manufacturers are always interested in higher consumption, and there is also a lot of information to the contrary. Unfortunately, of course, we do not get such fresh olive oil as is consumed in the Mediterranean countries. The whole production and logistics process takes time, and we don’t know how fresh the oil actually is on the store shelves. When the bottle is opened, the oil is in contact with air and therefore the oxidation process begins. But that’s not the problem with olive oil, it’s just that it doesn’t tolerate heating. You can easily find information about this on the Internet.https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/08/05/olive-oil.aspxhttps://www.oliveoilsource.com/asktheexpert/what-shelf-life-olive-oil. I do not use coconut oil and palm oil for ecological reasons. Besides, coconut fat dries up very quickly. Sesame oil has a longer shelf life and can withstand high temperatures. From an ecological point of view, ghee is the best fat because it is a local product and develops life in Estonia. It is important to support loving small animal husbandry, and caring ecological free-range cow farming should, in my opinion, be honored again. Since the production and consumption of ghee does not make anyone too rich, there is no propaganda about it on the Internet either. However, I did not find any article about the possible harm of ghee, if the raw material is pure. Ghee is just so foolproof.Ghee can be stored on the kitchen shelf for at least six months. According to tradition, it doesn’t workghee but not bad at all, and his wonderful qualities will only improve with time. However, it is quite unlikely thatghee will remain idle for a long time.
- Good amountghee’s cooking has half to one teaspoon per serving
- Ghee withstands high temperatures and does not burn – unlike butter
- Ghee on the other hand, it lubricates the internal channels of the body, thus helping to prevent blockages and, if used in moderation, does not add weight.
- GheeWhen you eat food made with fat, you train your sense of taste and when you get used to it, you will always prefer it to food made with low-quality fat. Goodbye, bad food places!
- GheeIt’s also good to fry meat and fish becauseghee supports the digestion of animal fats.
- Ghee’ dishes give a feeling of pleasure when eating and a feeling of satisfaction after the meal. They also reduce the need for sweets.
Tip
- Our family’s favorite dishes include baked vegetablesgheewith. I mix chopped Estonian seasonal vegetables in a potghee and season with salt, spread it on a baking sheet and then put it in the oven at 200 degrees for 15 minutes. Then I sprinkle sage, thyme or rosemary. This dish hits the tongues of both children and adults, is easy to digest and never gets boring.
- Ghee’s heated onion, garlic and grated carrot with spices make an excellent broth, casserole or soup base. To make the base of our family’s favorite soup, borscht, I heat itghee’s cumin, black mustard seeds, grated ginger and carrot.
- Ghee’ and you can also make delicious pancakes by frying them!
3. Helps children grow
Ghee supports children’s development and strengthens their immune system. By increasing feelings of peace, love and security, reducesghee hyperactivity and concentration disorders. Restless children can be given half a teaspoon three times a daygheewith a cup of warm water.
- It helps with school childrenghee the use of food contributes to the development of the intellect and the ability to learn. The academic performance of the three children in our family improved when we started eating regularlygheeto use
Tip:
Children’s formula isghee and honey mixed in a ratio of two to one. This super treat gives the child poise, self-confidence, stability and a sense of love, which has become a deficit in today’s fast-paced world. It is important to follow the mentionedghee and honey in the ratio, because when used in equal amounts, this combination creates a conflict of digestive enzymes.
4. Excellent cosmetics
Ghee is greasy and nourishing and a good day cream in our cold weather, protecting the delicate skin of the face from environmental pollution, humidity and cold. Usegheeon chapped lips and a reddened nose, to prevent wrinkles and to smooth wrinkles that have already appeared.Ghee is the only cosmetic that I use on my face besides make-up, both as a make-up base cream and as a make-up remover. The skin remains soft, smooth and silky.
Tip:
Ifghee don’t like the smell, it can be made into a neutral smelling moisturizing cream. You need 100 ml to make the creamgheeand 100 ml of clean boiled water at room temperature. Putghee into a bowl with water and whisk well into the foam (ghee is a representative of a slow lifestyle, but you can still whip it with a mixer or hand blender). Then pour off the excess water and repeat the process as long as you can and want, or at least 25 times. The more yougheeYou wash them in this way, the nicer the cream you get.Ghee turns into a white, soft and silky cream. It can take about two hours to make this kind of cream, but whipped cream is lighter and airier thanghee and also suitable for oily skin. Finally, the resulting cream can be scented with a few more drops of rose water.
5. A powerful rejuvenator
As we age, life juices begin to stagnate, and this process is helpedghee slow down very effectively. Ghee reduces both internal and external dryness and is therefore an excellent body rejuvenator. In case of excessive dryness of the body and skin, drink a cup of warm water mixed with a teaspoon before breakfastgheed. Externally nourish the skingheewith twice a day.
Tip:
Women cangheei.e. also help with vaginal dryness and irritation. For this, put the right amountgheeinto the fridge. Solidifiedgheei.e. pour candles of the appropriate size, wrap them in foil and store in the refrigerator. If necessary, use them intravaginally at night. In this way, the normal microflora in a woman’s vagina can be restored with natural means.
6. Balancer of emotions
In Ayurveda, it is known that in addition to physical and chemical properties, calories, carbohydrates and fats, food also has an energetic and emotional effect.Gheehas a special effect on the mind, thinking and emotions.
Ghee supports clarity of thought, understanding of connections and a sense of wholeness and creates feelings of love, care, stability and protection more than any other food.Ghee is a great contrast to today’s haste, nervousness and superficiality.
High quality with therapeutic effectghee making takes time, care, love and cooperation. The whole cycle from caring cow farming, where the cow is a beloved domestic animal, to obtaining milk and butter in a small household and endingghee cooking requires an investment of time, care, dedication and love.Ghee the process of making gives us knowledge and experience of how things are connected in the world.Love and devotion create love and health, carelessness and haste, however, negative emotions and diseases.
For me it isghee a symbol of common sense and cooperation. Similar to mammoth schools and large-scale industrial production, large dairy farms are also unable to provide care and a human dimension, and the cow is only a cost-benefit unit there. We have every opportunity to get high-quality fat with a wide range of uses right here in Estonia, supporting our own small-scale agriculture.
In the eco-Estonia of my dreams, in the summer, you can see more dairy cattle on green pastures next to beef cattle, and small-scale cow farming is as natural and supported as, for example, in Switzerland. It is especially nice to buy butter from a farmer, where you can visit with the whole family to see how the cows are kept.
7. Ghee preparation is a breeze
The bestghee you can get organic butter, butgheecan also be made from store-bought butter. Put the desired amount of butter in a pot and heat it over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the butter has melted. Then turn the heat to the lowest and let it simmer gently. Two 180-gram packages of butter yield about half a liter of ghee. When heated, the butter goes through different stages, foaming, bubbling and crackling. When the process becomes quiet and the mixture in the pot is transparent, there are small, slightly brownish lumps at the bottom of the pot, and a new, airier foam has come on top for the second time, it isghee ready How long it takes depends on the amount of butter, but usually 1-2 packs of butter about 15 minutes. I don’t peel off the foam, I let it harden, then strain it out. I use the leftover ghee in cooking, put it in porridge or soup or give it to pets. Nothing is lost and everything is precious.
Sufficient heating of butter is very important for high qualityghee to obtain. LetgheeLet it cool down a bit and then pour it through a metal sieve and cheesecloth or kitchen paper into a glass jar.
Ghee excellent properties are best preserved in a glass jar at room temperature out of direct sunlight. To keep the ghee well, make sure the butter is heated long enough and always use a clean spoon to take the ghee from the jar.