Buying Ghee for the first time please help !

MrsBartolozzi

Hi there I was just wondering, once you've opened the tin what do you do with the ghee? Does it keep in the fridge or do you have to use it up quickly??

Thanks.

NuffinisFree

londonTiger wrote: »

ghee is supposed to be "asian cheese", to be honest, unlike European cheese, asian cheese does not have many varieties, there's only one, it's ghee.

The most common one is the one that comes in a tin, in two metallic greens and a picture of a cow in the middle.

Ermmm think you've got ghee mixed up with paneer.

Ghee if fat like butter, Paneer is the Curd from milk (like cheese)

Then again both butter and cheese is made from milk, so i guess both are milk in different forms

sayahu

Ghee is not like cheese, it is a cooking fat - thats why it says clarified butter on the tin.

Paneer is the asian version of cheese, in shops you will find that the taste and texture is limitied in variety, however if you visit a paneer loving asian family you will find that they either make their own or know some one who does and have a choice of flavours and textures.

Yazzine is right, you do need to get a taste for yourself before you decide on what to buy.

Once tin is open my mum just keeps it in the larder (we have no heating pipes in there, so it stays solid) you could I guess keep in the fridge - it is butter after all.

Edwardia

ASDA sells paneer made in UK and it has a lovely milky taste, is quite cheap and moderately chewy like Halloumi. No idea whether it's made the authentic way sorry and forget brand name. The wrapper is clear with green writing and the cheese is white.

The ghee comes with a plastic lid to use once the tin is opened. Evidently as long as you use a clean dry spoon the ghee will keep indefinitely in or out of the fridge. I read that in India you can buy 100 yr old ghee !

Ben84

Edwardia wrote: »

ASDA sells paneer made in UK and it has a lovely milky taste, is quite cheap and moderately chewy like Halloumi. No idea whether it's made the authentic way sorry and forget brand name. The wrapper is clear with green writing and the cheese is white.

The ghee comes with a plastic lid to use once the tin is opened. Evidently as long as you use a clean dry spoon the ghee will keep indefinitely in or out of the fridge. I read that in India you can buy 100 yr old ghee !

100 year old ghee? Does it taste better and people buy it on purpose, or is it just terrible stock rotation?

Anyway, I have a can in the cupboard and it really does seem to keep forever. It's been there out the fridge for at least a year and it's the same as ever. A little goes a long way too, so it's not really as calorific in the food as people might worry.

Edwardia

Ben84 wrote: »

100 year old ghee? Does it taste better and people buy it on purpose, or is it just terrible stock rotation?

Noo idea but recently scientists discovered evidence that the Ancient Egyptians had atherosclerosis. Wonder what their fast food tasted like.. McTut burgers from the Pyramid drive-thru ?

Haffiana

Clarify your own butter. It only takes a few minutes - butter is 81% pure butter oil, with some water and a little bit of protein. So there is very little to clarify off, if you see what I mean. You can make a pan full which will last you for weeks.

Home-made is better than the tinned stuff in my opinion because it doesn't have that faint rancid milk smell that the tinned one has. And make sure to avoid any tinned ones with added ethyl butyrate in it, horrible rank stuff!

Butteroil does indeed have a high smoke point, but it is no higher than other animal fats such as dripping. Palm oil and coconut oil are excellent vegetable alternatives - palm oil olein is the usual oil in so-called 'vegetable ghee'. Again, if you buy vegetable ghee, avoid any that have added flavourings as they are utterly ghastly. (Well, they may be OK in something heavily spiced which would disguise the flavouring.)

Coconut oil is a bit of a treasure for cooking with, as it has a remarkably ungreasy and light taste. Wonderful stuff. It should be better known, as it is all-round a very unusual oil, but the Great British Public have been brainwashed in other directions unfortunately. Avoid so-called virgin coconut oils however, as they are ludicrously over-priced and have silly health hypes designed to keep the price high. Virgin coconut oil is a cosmetic product, not a foodstuff, so avoid. The simple, unrefined oil is widely available from ethnic stores.

VfM4meplse

Haffiana wrote: »

Coconut oil is a bit of a treasure for cooking with, as it has a remarkably ungreasy and light taste. Wonderful stuff. It should be better known, as it is all-round a very unusual oil, but the Great British Public have been brainwashed in other directions unfortunately.

It's strange but true, there are 2 very different camps when it comes to coconut oil.

I personally prefer to cook in a small amount of sunflower oil, as I get more than enough saturated fat from my excessive chocolate consumption. I think on balance it's probably better that the Great British public keep away from it, given that moderation is a concept that is becoming increasingly less respected.

Edwardia

I wouldn't touch vegetable oil, sunflower oil, margarine or vegetable ghee with the proverbial..

Decided to try a small 250ml coconut oil to see if I like it and ordered ghee without ethyl butyrate. Waiting for it all now

VfM4meplse

Edwardia wrote: »

I wouldn't touch vegetable oil, sunflower oil

Why not? It's tasteless and healthy, in moderation. I prefer to use a drop of it rather than my expensive olive oil if I'm cooking a soup or a curry, as the flavour would be wasted.