Ghee is a type of clarified butter that originated in South Asia.

To make ghee, butter is melted and simmered for an extended period to cook off the water, turning the butter pale yellow. Continued cooking turns it golden, and a residue of browned milk solids settles at the bottom.

This process flavours the ghee and also produces antioxidants that help prevent it from becoming rancid for longer, which allows ghee to be kept for six to eight months in an airtight container. When cool, the remaining components separate by density.

At the top, whey proteins form a skin, which is removed, and the butter fat is separated from the casein proteins, which settle to the bottom. Because of this process ghee is composed almost entirely of butter fat with only trace amounts of casein and lactose.

For very pure ghee the lactose test results are below the detection limit of 0,22 percent and casein test results below a detection limit of 0,11 percent.

Unless a person is extremely sensitive, it will normally not cause a reaction, even if other dairy products do.

It is, of course, advisable to discuss eating ghee with your healthcare professional and to test it with a tolerance taste test.

For cardiovascular health, it is important to limit your intake of ghee to below 10 percent of total calories (as with butter); approximately 1 tablespoon per day.

Click here to see how to make ghee.