When you start a recipe, often one of the first items you’ll reach for is cooking oil. Maybe you prefer olive oil, or maybe you favor the flavor of butter. Have you ever tried cooking with ghee?

Ghee is all of the oil present in butter. The process of making ghee involves slowly simmering butter (ideally pastured, cultured butter) for a long time until all of the moisture (lactose) cooks off and the milk solids begin to caramelize. Once strained, what remains is a golden pure butter oil void of lactose and casein, the two compounds in dairy considered most inflammatory. This method gives ghee a high smoke point, makes it much easier on the digestion system, less prone to oxidation, and allows it to be shelf stable for long periods of time. Ghee is often found in foods from the Indian sub-continent and the Middle East, regions of the world where ghee has been used for thousands of years. Ghee is a versatile and malleable kitchen staple, able to compliment a shocking range of meals and cuisine types. When in doubt – imagine that you can use ghee in any way you might use butter.

Breakfast! Ghee can be used as a butter replacement on toast, to fry your eggs, or as a topping for pancakes or waffles.

Baking! Ghee’s clarifying process naturally removes nearly all the lactose in butter, making it a great alternative for people who are lactose intolerant or looking to avoid inflammatory foods.

 Beverages! Some people choose to put butter in their coffee drinks, and those instances ghee is great alternative. Ghee is a good source of calcium, to counteract the acidic nature of the beans and make that morning cup of joe much easier on your stomach. Flavored ghees can deepen the taste of your dish, acting as great additions of your winter hot cocoa, or a steaming hot toddy.

Skin Care! Believe it or not, ghee is good for you on the outside, as well as on the inside. You can use ghee as a moisturizer, for things like hair or face masks. Ghee’s high smoke point is valuable, because ghee is less sensitive to light or heat than other natural oils are. If you are often out in the sun, switching to saturated fat-based ghee based skin products might help reduce your risk of sun burn.

Aleya Burg, owner and operator of Wild Rose Ghee is at the Hillsdale Farmers’ Market every Sunday, offering a wide variety of sustainable and hand-crafted ghees. Her traditional ghee golden ghee is the most versatile, able to adapt to any dish you might throw it in. Her flavored ghees are what catch you by the nose though, with delicious smells and flavors like garlic rosemary, cardamom relish reishi, chai, chocolate salty fudge, and brown butter sage.

This week, come to the market and be adventurous - try adding ghee to your shopping list. You might be surprised by all the places it can take you!

Photos courtesy of Wild Rose Ghee