Slow Sunday & making ghee
Including a chapter from my book that gives lots of ghee info
The other evening, I walked through the dark night air across cobbles by water where trees were lit up, and the water full of colours. There was a fine mist of rain on everyone’s coats and lots of umbrellas and hoods, as I enjoyed the soft, fine, almost non existent raindrops, that landed on my face. Time seemed to slow down as I walked up one side of the harbour then down the other.
I was out for the night to see a film with a friend. Later, on the way home, the bus crowded and full of happy chatter. When I got off, the cloudy sky had turned clear and it was full of stars. I watched them as I turned off the main road that was painting itself with human night life; onto back suburban streets I went, that stood silent in the night.
The next day, I was out early to the little train station that takes me to the main one. It’s like being in a country village rather than a city just there. Grass and wild life on the track, trees and bushes on the other side of this one-track line, with a play park on the other side of them. Children’s laughter and squeals of enjoyment, always; and birdsong.
The rain started and stopped three times while I waited for the train. It was colder and the next day I woke to snow. White roof tops and crunchy pavements. Bin lids covered and recycling bags patchy white. Tree out front; completely still. The world when I got up not moving as snow turned back to rain, with diamonds lining up on the tree branches, getting ready to drop.
Sometimes, life paints itself clearly, each and every, thing; exists with great clarity and confidence, unmistakable. At other times, it’s as if the world is etched from pencil strokes as rain turns to sleet, grey cloud merges into silver, then deep charcoal smudges which slowly disappear into, the in between times; and sun is on the other side.
I think we are heading through an in between time, in all sorts of ways, as light cloud turns to deep blocks of grey, snow to rain. I know this because, on my way home from that station, I noticed the magnolia tree at the end of the street is about to burst open, and there were patches of sky turning powder blue. Sunny spring, I thought, is on its way.
Today, early morning; soft as silk. The wet air and raindrops are on tree branches, and as the wind, ever so gently, ripples the moisture in the air they fall in clusters and sometimes, one at a time. Diamonds keep me company this morning.
Favourite things
Memories and dreams mingle in my mind as the future, has not yet come into being.
And any number of good things might paint themselves into existence.
Joy dots
Sunlight on red brick
Lights on water
Ripples
Inbetween times
Warmth
Raindrops
Charcoal turning silver
Humanity
Frost on rooftops
Slow Sunday
Seeing
Ghee
(Extract from my book “Your Peaceful Belly”.
There is nothing I like better than making a jar of golden ghee. The kitchen becomes deeply peaceful as the butter simmers away on the cooker in a heavy-bottomed pan, spitting and sizzling as the moisture escapes. The foam rises to the surface while the milk solids fall to the bottom and the kitchen fills with the smell of caramel, as I decant the golden liquid into glass jars through muslin.
It doesn’t matter what time of year it is, whether the sky is full of sunshine or grey clouds, the deep warmth and peace that comes into your kitchen with ghee-making is always the same – a beautiful peaceful experience.
Ghee is like clarified butter, the difference is that you caramelize the milk solids that fall to the bottom of the pan, and it’s this, that gives the distinct smell and flavour.
In Ayurveda ghee is often used as a carrier for herbs and spices, so the body can take up the medicinal benefits they offer. Traditional Ayurvedic ghee uses butter or cream that has been made from raw fermented milk.
The Ayurvedic view is that to receive the benefits, you need to use butter that has come from the milk of cows that have led happy lives. The Vedic tradition from which Ayurveda comes views the cow as sacred, selfless, and nurturing – qualities of an unconditional loving heart. That is why milk, and its derivatives are viewed as sattvic, imbuing us and our consciousness with these same sattvic qualities; purity, light, clarity, balance, and harmony.
In Ayurveda, ghee is used as a nutritive and rejuvenating tonic, which increases vitality. I learned that ghee improves intelligence, strengthens the liver, kidneys and brain whilst helping to balance the digestive system. Ghee also lubricates our connective tissues and, in this way, supports flexibility. Ghee is the perfect remedy for leaky gut because it is pure butyrate and therefore heals the junctions between the epithelial cells of the intestinal lining that can become compromised for so many of us, since the introduction of glyphosate into the industrialised food system. I drank a teaspoon of ghee in a mug of hot water each morning while I was healing, which worked well for my situation—we are all different and that needs to be taken into account.
There has been concern that ghee will increase cholesterol levels and therefore may not be good for your health. Ayurveda does not take this view, and there is a large body of Western research that acknowledges the importance of cholesterol in our body, it is the building block for many things. Without cholesterol you will suffer all the side effects people experience from taking Statins – Statins prevent your body from producing cholesterol.
When Statins were created in the 1980’s to address the high levels of cholesterol in the vascular system of some people by preventing that person from producing cholesterol, a mistake was made:
The question ‘why is the body producing high levels of LDC cholesterol’ was not asked.
LDC cholesterol is produced by the Liver and sent over to address inflammation in the body, once the job has been done the LDC cholesterol is recycled back to the liver. However, if there is chronic inflammation, the liver keeps on sending over LDC cholesterol which doesn’t get recycled back. The problem was never the cholesterol but the reason for it being produced – chronic inflammation in the vascular system. Zach Bush M.D. has gathered research in relation to this, along with the reason why our bodies are struggling with chronic inflammation.
Nourishing cleansing & supporting
Ghee has many uses which include nourishing the skin through self-massage (Abhyanga), cleansing fat-soluble toxins from the body and supporting absorption.
A little ghee in liquid form, taken in through the nose, nourishes the brain and aids memory. This Ayurvedic therapy is called Nasya, while an eye bath can be made from ghee and is used for several eye conditions.
Our eyes have lubricating glands that ensure there is enough moisture for them to function properly, but sometimes conditions can prevent these glands from working properly, when our lymphatic system becomes congested the muscles in our eyes stop being able to move waste out. In this therapy liquid ghee is used to moisturize the eye and draw out toxins, helping to address dry, fatigued eyes, and floaters.
Ayurveda also teaches that this eye therapy helps with vision and inflammatory conditions of the eyes and promotes sleep and relaxation. It is used to address early cataract conditions, as well as glaucoma and chronic conjunctivitis. This is a therapy I have yet to try but I am looking forward to it!
To carry out this therapy the eye areas are surrounded with a dam made from dough. Warm liquid ghee is poured onto the closed eyes one at a time and then the eyes are opened, filling with the warm ghee. It is said to be a deeply relaxing therapy that soothes and nourishes your eyes, improves vision, refreshes tired, sore, dry, irritated eyes, and clears out impurities. People say this therapy leaves you feeling serene and seeing the world through the eyes of love. It is thought to have existed under different names since prehistoric times.
Full fat butter & obesity fear
Ghee is made from full fat butter or cream. In the west we have learned to fear eating a full fat diet, with butter and cream having a bad press in terms of health due to their saturated fat content. Since the 1970s, we have been led to think it is not healthy to consume butter or cream due to the mistaken link, between saturated fats and heart disease.
In 2015 the National Obesity Forum produced a controversial report suggesting the low-fat lifestyle caused weight gain and ill health and suggested the government was colluding with the food industry. Obesity in Western culture has been on the rise since the 1970s, along with sales of low-fat food products and an increase in processed sugary treats. For anyone concerned about putting on weight through consuming ghee, research is suggesting the reverse is true, with ghee burning fat due to the conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) content.
Research has also been showing the CLA may prevent cancer, and reduce inflammation, with studies showing that ghee made from grass-fed cow butter has a higher amount of CLA compared to using the butter of cows kept in captivity and fed grains. The former also contains a higher content of omega-3 fatty acids – important for the healthy functioning of the brain and body.
Spreading light
In India ghee represents purity and is celebrated as a shining light. It is a symbol of nourishment, healing, and everything auspicious. Ghee is used as a therapeutic food, and as a supreme offering in religious rituals. In one of the Vedic myths of creation, Prajapati the lord of creation created ghee by rubbing his hands together, which he then dipped over a flame to create his children. The ritual of pouring ghee into fire as an offering is still performed today and ghee lamps are lit to purify spaces for prayer.
The golden ghee lamp is a lovely way to light up a room on a cold dark winter’s evening, and it is a great way to up-cycle those tea light foil containers that end up in the bin. Just add a wick and pour in freshly made ghee, then re-use again and again. In terms of storage, be aware that if the room temperature reaches around 37 degrees C (97F), the ghee will melt – potentially spilling everywhere.
The component I get most excited about in ghee is butyrate. It is a detoxifier, which improves colon health and is the main source of energy for the cells in your colon. When there is not enough butyrate in your gut it leads to health problems. For instance, a lack of butyrate in the digestive tract can lead to intestinal permeability, while the reverse is also true, butyrate helps to heal the protein junctions between the epithelial cells that make up the intestinal lining. Beneficial bacteria in our gut convert the fibre we cannot digest into butyrate through a fermentation process (explained in Chapter 2), which is then used to feed the cells in our digestive tract and support our intestinal barrier.
Butyrate reduces inflammation of the intestinal wall, keeps the junctions between the epithelial cells of the intestinal lining working well, improves absorption and supports the protective mucus layer of the intestine.
While I was on the Ayurvedic healing diet that cured me of all my symptoms related to IBS, SIBO and intestinal permeability, I drank one teaspoon of ghee dissolved in a mug of hot water first thing in the morning, on an empty stomach. I did this for 3 months as part of the Ayurvedic approach to re-establishing the conditions for good health.
When you move through Panchakarma (an intense Ayurvedic approach to cleansing carried out under specialist medical care) ghee is used to flush out old bile from your gall bladder while stimulating your liver to produce new bile. Bile is an intestinal scrub, and this process clears out toxins and unwanted bugs from your digestive tract. At the same time the healthy bacteria in your digestive tract will be supported by the butyrate in the ghee.
Ghee softens hardened bodily tissues and lubricates the channels to enable an easy flow of toxins and doshas back to the digestive tract, from where they can be expelled. It also acts as a chelating agent, drawing toxins out from the cells.
Ghee is one of the best oils to cook with because it has the highest smoke point of all oils – 251 degrees C (485 F7—when an oil starts to smoke it means the heat is breaking down the fat, and this effects not only the smell and taste of the oil but also releases free radicals which can lead to a deterioration in our health, by disrupting the body’s equilibrium and attacking our cells.
In India ghee is viewed as the essence of milk; milk is viewed as the essence of all the plants the cows eat; and plants are viewed as the essence of the sun with all its life-giving properties. Vedic culture values ghee as one of the most essential foods. The Mahabharata, one of the two Indian epic legends, contains a passage which says the sustenance of all worlds flows from ghee.
When we consume ghee Ayurveda would say we are feeding our digestive fire the finest fuel. Ghee nourishes us, replenishes our life force, brings balance to our constitution, strengthens our immune system, and restores our digestive fire. And, ghee is considered one of the most important oils for massage, it can be applied to burns and skin abrasions and is said to slow down the ageing process.
Ghee is an absolute gem.
Contraindications
Consuming Ghee: If you have a slight allergy to dairy you may find you are able to consume ghee, because the process of making it removes casein and lactose. However, it is worth noting that some brands of ghee still have traces of lactose and casein and, since there is no easy way of testing homemade ghee, do seek medical advice or avoid it if your dairy allergy is in anyway life threatening.
How to make ghee
Here’s a series of pictures showing the different stages of ghee making.
Melt unsalted organic butter (if you can get hold of it use fermented
Have the heat on low and the butter in a heavy bottomed pan. Once the butter has melted it will start to sizzle and splutter, make doubly sure the heat is low.
The next two pictures shows how the milk solids create a foam on the top which gradually breaks apart as the milk solids fall to the bottom. The heat is low so that the milk solids don’t burn before the process is complete. The spluttering you will hear is the water content evaporating off.
You can see in the above two pictures how the foam starts to break apart as the milk solids fall to the bottom of the pan and the moisture content evaporates off. There comes a point when the foam has gone and there are just some bubbles left – see next photo…
Now let the solids on the bottom caramelise but don’t let them burn, keep watching carefully and listening, and stirring to prevent burning. When there is no more spluttering and you can see and smell that the milk solids have caramelised – smell like popcorn, it’s time to strain your ghee through muslin into a glass container.
I hope you enjoy your ghee!
Till next week.
Wishing you the warmest,
Lucy x
This is a fascinating read Lucy. I have steered clear of ghee as I have a dairy intolerance, but am pondering whether it's worthwhile revisiting. I didn't know it was so healing for leaky gut. Thanks for another lovely thoughtful post 🙏
Thank you for this, Lucy! I love ghee but have been too intimidated to make my own...and find it too pricey and of sketchy quality when sold in plastic containers (which is how it's sold near me). Maybe I'll finally give it a go!