HOW TO make and can Ghee

Since I am fortunate enough to have access to grass fed cows- this means I gather a few gallons of cream each week.  Clearly I don't go through that much even with making cream cheese, sour cream, ice cream, creamer etc...  no matter what-I always make butter.  Always.  Then I typically convert the butter to Ghee and can it.

Ghee is butter that has been heated to a certain length of time to a point where the milk solids solidify and separate from the fats.  This end is clarified butter.  For years I have been making this stuff as a carrier oil... all the while not knowing it has a proper name... Ghee.

This results in a much better cooking oil as the smoke point reaches about 485* which makes it very versatile.  Yes, it also has higher levels of A, D, E, K2 and CLA: an antioxidant coupled with antiviral properties.   Ghee is a good source of this in its finished state.
 K2- This is very important and hard to find unless you have a grass fed animal you are collecting the byproducts from.  Grass fed animals all vary to a certain degree of these levels depending on what stage of alfalfa they are primarily raised on.

There are 3 stages...or cuttings.  Every farmer has their reasoning for wanting one over the other.  The first cut contains far more nutritional value in my opinion- this is why I collect my medicinal use for the whole year at first harvest.  Other cuts contain higher levels of sugar and/or protein etc.- more on that later.

So, cream.  Get your container filled half way with a tight fitting lid.  I use glass because I feel it distributes the heat in your hands better to allow for coagulation.  If I am in a rush, I heat the cream to 90* and use the Kitchen Aid.  Always allow for 2x the volume.  Once you get your shake on, it becomes whipped cream sans the sweetness and it needs the room before falling back and then collecting in on itself to form the butter pieces.

At the the point where the butter fats collect and form a clearly distinguishable separation between the buttermilk-I then pour into a colander lined with butter or cheese cloth to drain out the buttermilk (60-90 thread count fabric).  

Don't toss the buttermilk!  It can be used for so many other things!

You will need to chill the butter in order to work it with a wooden spoon or two to agitate out the buttermilk.  Keep washing the butter with ice cold water until it runs clear after being worked.

Once you have made proper butter- you can now melt it over med/low heat for as long as it takes for the milk solids to separate... like below... possibly 20-30ish minutes.

Now skim off of the top and then if possible run through a cheese cloth after it has cooled.

Pour off into clean sterilized jars.

  Can at 11# for 60 minutes and you now have a stock of Ghee that wont take up your freezer or counter.