Ghee and Clarified Butter - What's the Difference? Aren't they the same?
When purchasing ghee you will often notice the term 'clarified butter' on the product label. This can be confusing, and while ghee is like clarified butter in many ways, it is not the same thing.
Unfortunately, this confusion can cause shoppers looking for pure ghee (and the unique properties it provides) to mistakenly purchase clarified butter instead.
So how do they differ?
1. The process of how ghee and clarified butter are made
Butter, during the ghee-making process, is at one stage clarified butter. But it doesn't stop there. Making ghee requires cooking the butter longer.
Making authentic ghee is more complex than simply boiling butter. Correctly made, ghee has many values aside from its high smoke point and culinary uses.
2. Ghee has a higher smoke point
Butter has a smoke point of 350°F (177°C), clarified butter has a smoke point of 250°F (121°C), and ghee has an incredibly high smoke point of 485°F (252°C). That's over 100 degrees more than other oils like canola and coconut oil! This makes ghee an incredible asset in your pantry. (Click here for a super handy chart of different smoke points.)
3. Shelf life and storage
Due to the increased cooking time and the removal of lactose, casein and moisture, ghee has a longer shelf life than clarified butter. Ghee will store almost indefinitely, whereas you're best to keep clarified butter in the fridge. Any butter left out on the kitchen bench for too long will quickly become rancid.
4. Ghee has a distinct flavour profile
Ghee has a signature taste. It's warm, toasty and caramelised, with overtones of butterscotch. Clarified butter has its own taste too. They are different.
5. Milk solids - to ghee or not to ghee
Ghee is ghee because all the milk solids and the moisture have been removed. Clarified butter is not guaranteed to have all the milk solids removed.
6. Fatty acid chain structure
Lastly, clarified butter and ghee have a different fatty acid chain structure. Your body responds differently to ghee than it does to clarified butter.
Summary
Consider this. You have beef and lamb; both are meat and completely different, yet kind of the same. It's the same in this scenario, both are heated butter, but they are completely different, yet kind of the same.
Are you confused yet?
