Every so often, I purchase ghee for an Indian recipe, then the jar migrates to the back of the fridge and I forget it’s there. It’s just not my go-to cooking fat, but this tasty California ghee may change that. Since I first tried it a few days ago, I keep adding to my mental list of how I’ll use it. On popcorn. Steamed artichokes. Wilted spinach. The year’s first asparagus. Fried eggs. Made with organic butter from pasture-raised cows—uncommon for ghee—it is deeply nutty. And with winter rain producing lush green grass in the Golden State, the ghee is likely at its annual peak of color and flavor.
Raised to Matter Ghee is affiliated with Rumiano Cheese, a century-old California creamery best known for Dry Jack. Rumiano makes organic European-style butter as well, and about four years ago an employee suggested transforming some of that butter into ghee.
Ghee is clarified butter—butter with the milk solids and water removed—but it’s nuttier than conventional clarified butter because it’s cooked longer. Maybe you have tried the process at home. You melt a large quantity of butter and continue cooking it until it stops sizzling—a sign that all the water has evaporated. If you skim the foamy milk solids that collect on the surface, you have clarified butter. But if you continue cooking until any remaining solids darken a bit and fall to the bottom, then strain the sparkling-clear liquid off the solids, you have fragrant, golden ghee.
Most American-made butter is 80 percent fat. Most of the fancy butters from Europe or the ones labeled “European style” are 82 percent fat. The remaining 18 to 20 percent is water and milk solids. Ghee, in contrast, is close to 100 percent butterfat. From 400 pounds of butter, Rumiano gets only 320 pounds of ghee.
Why bother? Because ghee has a much higher smoke point than butter. You can sauté potatoes or sear fish in it and it won’t burn. Plus, it has that irresistible fragrance, a mingling of toasted nuts and caramel, a quality you will notice most on simple foods like rice pilaf or popcorn. I made asparagus risotto with Raised to Matter ghee recently and floated slivers on top of cauliflower soup. In both cases, the ghee added an appealing nuttiness.
Ghee enthusiasts make a lot of health claims for it but I’m not going there. To me, the allure is the brown-butter scent and the tolerance for high heat. Yet another admirable feature: it doesn’t go rancid even at room temperature. “It never has to be refrigerated,” says Kate Walker, Rumiano’s head of ghee production. “Water is what makes butter go bad.”
Until May 31, Planet Cheese readers can get a 15 percent discount on Raised to Matter Original Ghee from Rumiano’s online store. Use the Promo Code PLANETCHEESE at checkout. You might want to order a few jars to justify the shipping cost. Alternatively, you can find Raised to Matter Ghee in Oregon at Ashland Coop (Ashland) and in California at Big John’s Market (Healdsburg), Eureka Natural Foods (McKinleyville and Eureka), North Coast Coop (Eureka and Arcata); Rainbow Grocery (SF), Wildberries Marketplace (Arcata) and Wild River Market (Crescent City). Walker, whom her colleagues call “the ghee gal,” suggests that you ask your local retailer to stock it.
Popcorn with Ghee and Parmigiano Reggiano
1/4 cup popcorn kernels, popped by preferred method
2 tablespoons warm melted ghee
1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1/4 cup finely grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
Put the hot popcorn in a serving bowl and pour the warm ghee over the popcorn. Add the salt and toss well. Add the cheese and toss again.
Serve immediately.
Makes about 7-1/2 cups