Ghee
Ghee is a dairy product obtained through controlled heating of butter, during which water evaporates, and the milk solids separate and are removed. It is essentially anhydrous milk fat (AMF) with a distinctive nutty flavor and golden color commonly used in cuisines from the Indian subcontinent.
Ghee, as defined under FSSR 2011, is the unadulterated, heat-cleared fat made purely from cow milk, buffalo milk or mixed milk, curd, desi (Indian culinary) butter, or cream. Its manufacture rests on three steps: concentration of milk fat in the form of cream or butter, heat clarification of the fat-rich milk portion so that water is reduced to less than 0.5%, and removal of the curd content in the form of ghee residue.
Five routes are used commercially — the Desi or Indigenous Method, the Direct Cream Method, the Creamery Butter Method, the Prestratification Method and the Continuous Method. In the Creamery Butter Method, milk is warmed to 40–50 °C and separated into cream, pasteurised at 80 °C/15 sec and standardised to 38–40% fat, cooled to 7–8 °C and churned into butter. The butter passes through a butter melter at 80 °C into the ghee boiler, where boiling at 114 ± 2 °C yields clarified fat; filtration separates the ghee from the ghee residue.
The ghee boiler — also called a ghee kettle or ghee-making vessel — is the specialised equipment at the heart of this line. Clarification is what gives ghee a higher smoke point, a longer shelf life and intense flavour, and it eliminates the components that lead to spoilage, making the product more suitable for both cooking and storage.
On the nutrition side, ghee carries 123 Cal, 14 grams fat (9 grams saturated, 4 grams monounsaturated, 0.5 grams polyunsaturated), Vitamin A at 13% of the Daily Value (DV), Vitamin E at 3% of the DV and Vitamin K at 1% of the DV. Packaging choices follow the market position: glass jars for premium products, giving excellent protection against light and oxygen; plastic containers, which are lightweight, shatterproof and available in various sizes; metal cans for good protection against light; and flexible pouches, which are lightweight and convenient for travel.