How to use ghee whether it’s solid or liquid—There’s no wrong way!
Have you recently bought a jar of ghee and noticed that it was half liquid and half solid? Or perhaps when you opened the lid, you discovered that the ghee was a grainy or gritty texture? Or maybe you bought a jar of solid ghee but it turned into a liquid by the time you got it home. If you’re wondering about the texture of ghee, this article is for you, plus we give you some tips on how to use ghee no matter what state it’s in!
Grainy or smooth? Gritty or liquid? What’s up with that texture?
The ultimate texture of the ghee is determined by how it’s made. Ghee is created by slowly simmering butter and then removing the moisture, the milk solids, and the impurities. What remains is the clarified essence of butter.
Ghee contains many types of fatty acids, each with its own melting point. This variance in melting points allows ghee to shape-shift between textures—solid, smooth and creamy, gritty or grainy, liquid and oily—even if kept at the same temperature.
When making ghee, if it is allowed to cool slowly, the different fatty acids in the ghee all cool at their own pace resulting in a texture that is not uniform. At Full Moon Ghee, we make our ghee in small batches, pour it into jars while it’s still in liquid form, put on the lids, and then allow it to cool slowly on a countertop. Ghee that cools rapidly is more solid than ghee that cools slowly, so this means that the ghee on the edges of the jar will be in a more solid state than the ghee in the center that took longer to cool. Slowly cooled ghee can take on a variety of textures including grainy or gritty, as well as smooth, creamy, or liquid.
This variation in texture only affects the way ghee looks and has no impact on the taste or quality of the ghee whatsoever. In fact, that grainy, non-uniform texture tells you that the ghee has been prepared properly, that the temperature was kept low and the antioxidants have been preserved.
How to use ghee in any form
Ultimately, there’s no wrong texture for ghee. However, certain textures lend themselves to being used for different purposes.
What’s the best way to use ghee when it’s a liquid?
When ghee is warmed it will become uniformly liquid, making it perfect for drizzling over popcorn, stirring into a hot cup of coffee, tea or cocoa, or poured over a fluffy stack of pancakes (try our Maple Ghee for that!). You can also use liquid ghee directly in your hair for a nice scalp treatment, or massage it into your skin as an all-over body moisturizer!
How to use ghee when it’s solid.
When ghee is solid it becomes more spreadable. You can replace the butter with ghee in any of your favorite baking recipes, or spread it on warm toast. You can even rinse solid ghee with water (several times) to make a traditional Ayurvedic ghee mask for your face.
Really, the uses of ghee are pretty endless. For more fun ideas on how to use ghee, check out our blog. And to buy some ghee, check out our shop. Full Moon Ghee comes in a variety of flavors, expanding the uses of ghee even further!
