Does anyone bother to make their own ghee for trips? I've been watching youtube videos on making it and it seems relatively easy and supposedly keeps well (for up to a month) unrefrigerated.

If you've tried it. How does it taste? Is it comparable to butter or does it have a different flavor? Please share your experiences.

I didn't make my own ghee, but bought some and put it in a tube. I brought it on my trip to the Quetico last week. It tastes a little different from butter, as the milk solids are removed. I like it.
It lasts a long time without refrigeration.
I used it to make scrambled eggs, as a spread on blueberry scones, and to sautée vegetables.

Can you describe the difference in taste? I've heard it described as popcorn butter smell but .. to me that sounds like butter.

Um... Less creamy, more oily. Sort of nutty tasting and rich.

Last year I made about 32 oz of Ghee. Very easy to make, just heat and scoop off the foam and filter it through cheese cloth a few times. It lasts for a long time without refrigeration. This year I found a large container at Sam's club that we brought. It tastes like butter because it is butter, just the milk solids removed.

Sounds like clarified butter and not ghee which is browned that imparts a nutty flavor...

It sounds like clarified butter and ghee are basically the same thing but differ in how they are produced. Commercial clarified butter sounds like it is separated with a centrifuge and ghee is separated through heat. I would think if you strained it before the milk solids started to brown you could avoid the nutty flavor. I may try to make up a small batch this week to taste it.

quote okinaw55: "It sounds like clarified butter and ghee are basically the same thing but differ in how they are produced. Commercial clarified butter sounds like it is separated with a centrifuge and ghee is separated through heat. I would think if you strained it before the milk solids started to brown you could avoid the nutty flavor. I may try to make up a small batch this week to taste it."

I thought they could both be made stove top in your kitchen and that both removed the milk solids, but ghee had more of the water content removed - cooking longer. I kind of liked this site to explain how to make and difference.

Thanks for that link Bill. I guess what I want to make then is clarified butter and not ghee. This has been informative. It looks like pretty handy stuff to carry. It will last the whole trip, gives you good flavoring, can be used as a cooking oil in a pinch. I wonder how effective it would be as a fire starter in wet conditions.

I've usually used squeeze parkay from Zups but plan to switch to clarified butter/ghee in the future.

Found this at Trader Joes yesterday. I'll try it and see how it works. On label it says "Does not need refrigeration. Store in a cool, dry place." Seems they reached a compromise on clarified vs. ghee.

Sorry - add a photo is dead. Will try rebooting.

Well - add a photo and add a link just won't work for me today.

Boy - this has been hard. Started with IE10 and then Safari and finally Chrome before it uploaded.

How much? I found a similar size at United Noodles for $5

It was a great trip addition. Definitely one to keep in mind for future trips.

$3.29 for 8 ounces. Figured I could transfer it to a plastic squeeze bottle.

So I tried it on toast this morning - super butter flavor.

Also, to my surprise, the jar is plastic - BWCA ready! I'll probably leave a popsicle stick or tounge depressor in it like I do peanut butter for serving.

Thought I'd compare nutrition labels and not sure I can as serving size of the ghee is 1 teaspoon and serving size of basic unsalted butter is one tablespoon, and I could imagine you need less ghee for same flavor/function.

Anyway for those that care:

Butter Ghee
tsp tbs tsp tbs
33 100 45 135 calories - all fat calories
8 24 3.5 11 grams of fat
3 9 2.3 7 grams saturated fat

Everything else was basically zero.

As I said above - very flavorful - would be nice on some fry pan bread or pancakes, super on dehydrated or f.d. vegetables, and I love hash browns soaking in butter (like Norske Nook's in Rice Lake!). Definitely better than liquid margarine like the Parkay I have used, and nice that it never needs refrigeration.

That's great! Thank you for the feedback. I'm going to try making some and if it doesn't turn out I'll probably pick up the stuff you purchased. Have you tried lighting it on fire yet? :)

Been thinking about making my own ghee, but I ended up altering my menu around the need for butter. This thread was so helpful. I saw this in Trader Joes & got excited about the possibilities, but didn't pick it up at the time. Thanks Bill for your review & insight into this product. Awesome. Going to give it a try.

another cool thing about ghee/clar butter is with the milk solids gone the smoke point is much higher. You can pan fry a fillet ob pretty high heat.

quote okinaw55: "It sounds like clarified butter and ghee are basically the same thing but differ in how they are produced. Commercial clarified butter sounds like it is separated with a centrifuge and ghee is separated through heat. I would think if you strained it before the milk solids started to brown you could avoid the nutty flavor. I may try to make up a small batch this week to taste it."

don't know about the centrifugal thing but I make ghee regularly and carry some it on my bwca trips. (4 to 5 days) It holds up well.
You are right-on about taking it off the burner earlier to avoid toasting the solids which sink to bottom of pot (which gives it the nutty enhancement Indians prefer). Then, it appears much like clarified butter which I think, in essence, it is. I use it mainly to fry eggs and flavor toast & bagels. Hardly use butter anymore since I've become so familiar with the unhealthy solids that sink to bottom during ghee processing.
I clean out a spice container (med-sized,plastic) which holds the right amount for soloist/ 4 to 5 days. spoon it out with a teaspoon.

The centrifuge thing was just something I found searching the differences. It makes sense that commercially they would use this method to speed up the process (Separate different weights) but as Bill pointed out it can be done with heat in both instances. It wouldn't surprise me at all if both ghee and clarified butter were separated with a centrifuge commercially and called different things although being the same.

Thank you for the clarification on heating times. I'll keep that in mind when I try to make some and good idea on the spice containers as containers. I should probably start saving the empty ones.:)

ghee rocks!
I started making my own a few years ago and use coffee filters to stain it thru. I then return the stuff to to low heat to further remove the water. The stuff that's left is pure joy for camping. I love it on a oatmeal bannock in the morning.

quote okinaw55: "The centrifuge thing was just something I found searching the differences. It makes sense that commercially they would use this method to speed up the process (Separate different weights) but as Bill pointed out it can be done with heat in both instances. It wouldn't surprise me at all if both ghee and clarified butter were separated with a centrifuge commercially and called different things although being the same.


Thank you for the clarification on heating times. I'll keep that in mind when I try to make some and good idea on the spice containers as containers. I should probably start saving the empty ones.:)"

good luck. all that left-over stuff settling to bottom of pan, as well as, what floats on top of liquid = vein clogging agents.

tips: UNSALTED butter only. use low settings and patience. you don't have to fuss with it other than watch for adjusting burner. I use glasstop stove: dial on 3 till it has melted and begins to bubble; then set dial between 0 and 1. From this point it gurgles and spit as it removes water content and solids settle. When yellow liquid transitions from cloudy to clarity, it's time to take it off burner & strain oil. For Nutty flavor: keep on burner for toasting contents that settle to bottom. Browning happens fast. It will burn if you get distracted by a movie and forget to pull from heat. Even on a low setting. ;-)
Yield: 4 sticks butter (organic has less impurities) = a wide-mouth pint canning jar--1/2" from rim.
Total Time: 1 to 1.20 hours depending on range efficiency.
Holds stable on countertop, in semi-solid form. As precaution, I put it in fridge overnight if it sits out longer than a week.

Thank you for the clear instructions on stove temperature. Quick question though. You said you put it in the fridge if its out more than a week. Once refrigerated, do you or anyone else know how long it lasts? I guess it's not really important because I'll be making it right before our trip. Just curious.

Been busy with Fall chores and haven't logged in for awhile, okinaw55.
I've had a pint of it as long as 4 wks (kept refrigerated at 3rd week) and was still good when I used last of it. The fridge hardens it but softens again after sitting out an hour or so.
I have taken upon myself to do this because I take no chances with food. Foodstuff sitting on counter longer than a few days makes me nervous. Even when labels say it's OK. Cautiousness and all that.

A bit offtopic: I keep chickens. Collected eggs can sit out on counter for weeks and stay safe. Once refrigerated they have to stay in fridge. After two weeks, mine go in fridge. Again, I take no chances.

I had heard of ghee before, but never tried it. I now will try it before next summer's trip.
So this is good for frying fish??

Jim - I don't fish so don't fry fish much but if you use a lot of oil, ghee might not be practical. I cooked walleye in a little squeeze butter and lemon and ghee would be great. But if a half inch of oil in a pan for breaded fillets, I don't think so. (A scant tablespoon for some eggs would be marvelous!)

Thanks for this thread Oki & Bill & others. I bought the Trader Joes Ghee and tried it at home, then I brought it to the woods on a camping trip. Previously I used canola oil in a squeeze bottle for cooking and single packets of olive oil from Minimus for flavoring pasta (garlic, herb & oil). Ghee adds a nice flavor profile to breakfast items such as pancakes, biscuits & French toast you would not have with oil alone. It was super easy to use as a solid, melts in a flash and has a high smoke point, so it doesn't burn easily. Tastes really great and is forgiving in the pan. I will still bring my oil squeeze bottle and packets of olive oil as they still have a purpose, but will now add the ghee to my pack. Good stuff, glad I picked it up.

quote Swampblaze14: "Thanks for this thread Oki & Bill & others. I bought the Trader Joes Ghee and tried it at home, then I brought it to the woods on a camping trip. Previously I used canola oil in a squeeze bottle for cooking and single packets of olive oil from Minimus for flavoring pasta (garlic, herb & oil). Ghee adds a nice flavor profile to breakfast items such as pancakes, biscuits & French toast you would not have with oil alone. It was super easy to use as a solid, melts in a flash and has a high smoke point, so it doesn't burn easily. Tastes really great and is forgiving in the pan. I will still bring my oil squeeze bottle and packets of olive oil as they still have a purpose, but will now add the ghee to my pack. Good stuff, glad I picked it up. "

Glad you found and resurected this post. I'll have to get some at Trader Joes. My wife and I love that store. Always a lot of unique products to try.