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Making Ghee from store bought butter in USA at home Recipe

Ghee is made by heating un-salted American butter. The moisture is removed by evaporation. The milk-solids are toasted and than filtered out leaving behind Ghee.

To take the guess work out, we will use a deep-fryer thermometer. It should have a clip to hang on the wall of the heavy bottom stainless steel pot being used to heat the butter.

Ingredient

Un-salted butter: 1 Pound

Method

1. Unwrap each stick of butter and cut into four equal size pieces. Place the butter in a heavy bottom stainless steel pot. Hang the thermometer on the side. Turn on heat to low to melt the butter. We will try to maintain temperature of 110° F. If the heat is too high, it will start to burn the butter resulting in bitter taste.
Approximate time: 10 minutes

2. After the butter has melted, increase the heat to simmer. We will like to maintain butter-liquid temperature close to 190° F. During this step, the moisture will evaporate leaving behind golden yellow color butter-oil. Some of the milk-solids (whey) will bubble up to top surface in the form of white foam, stir it back into the melted butter. If you wish, you may skim-off the foam and discard it. There will be sputtering noise as the moisture cooks away. Eventually, all the moisture should be gone, the milk-solids (casein) will sink to the bottom, and the melted butter will look like golden yellow color butter-oil.
At the end of step 2, you can filter out the milk solids and remainder is the 'Clarified butter'
Approximate time: 25 minutes

3. Increase the heat to medium. We will try to maintain butter-liquid temperature close to 250° F. During this step, the milk-solids will be toasted to light brown. The color of butter-oil will become golden brown. This step adds nutty caramel flavor to the Ghee. As soon as the milk solids turn brown color, turn off heat.
At the end of Step 3, you have 'noisette butter' or 'beurre noisette' used in French pastry making. Noisettes means hazelnuts, referring to the brown color.
Approximate time: 10 minutes

4. Let the ghee cool to about 125° F. If the butter-oil cools off too much, it gets thicker and difficult to filter. We want it to just cool down low enough so it is comfortable to handle without fear of getting burned. Filter the warm butter-oil using multi-layered cheese cloth or a thin muslin cloth to remove toasted brown milk-solids. After the milk-solids have been removed, we are left with Ghee.

5. Store ghee in a clean dry jar. Ghee should be stored in an opaque jar, tightly fitted lid, in dry place.
You may use a canning color (blue green or amber) glass jar fitted with snap top locking wire-bail (metal clasp). As the ghee cools off, it will become granular. Let the ghee rest at room temperature for about 24 hours before use.

One pound of butter will yield 1½ cup of Ghee

Is ghee made from American butter same as traditional ghee made in India?

Simple answer is 'very close' but not quite the same.
Traditional ghee is made with fresh milk drawn from grass-fed cows. The whole milk is made into yogurt with live culture. The yogurt is churned to break-off the butter-fat globules that clump together and float as Makhan (cultured butter). The Makhan is skimmed off and heated to make ghee.
In USA, the cream is skimmed off the top of whole cow's milk. The cream is churned to break-off the butter-fat globules that clump together and float as butter. The American butter is skimmed off and heated to make ghee in this recipe
There are two basic differences in the resulting ghee
1. The yellow tinge in traditional ghee is from the grass being fed to cows resulting in carotene. In American butter, food color (annatto derivative) is added to give a more distinctive yellow color. Both are carotene and effect the color slightly but not taste aroma or texture.

2. The water and milk solids in Makhan are cultured, while American butter has no culture. This has a slight impact on the taste and aroma of the ghee.
You can correct this difference by converting American butter in to cultured butter before making ghee. Melt the American butter and beat-in yogurt with live-culture (2 Tablespoon of yogurt per pound of butter) with a fork. Cover the container. Let it rest in warm place (98° F to 110° F) for about six hours. You have just cultured the American butter. Heat this cultured butter to make ghee.

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