Food is about appearance, aroma, nutrients, appetite and most importantly taste. Food is an essential part of everyone’s existence. Authentic food preparation always attracts people in great numbers and ghee is an integral part of any food.
Ghee or clarified butter is one such ingredient that makes a meal perfect. Originated in ancient India, ghee is known for its taste, aroma, nutritional and medicinal values.
It is used regularly in the cuisines of Indian sub-continent and South-East Asian countries. It is rich in omega-3 and butyric acid, short-chain fatty acids which help in digestion and providing energy to the body.
Properties Of Ghee
Ghee enhances the taste of any food preparation. It imparts energy to the body and also has immense medicinal applications.
Relieves Clogged Noses: Difficulty in breathing due to clogged noses is an unpleasant experience. The sense of taste is hampered and often associated with headache. Ayurveda has long known the medicinal aspect of ghee, putting a few drops of it relieves clogged nose.
Source Of Energy: Ghee acts as a source of good fat that is required by the body to generate energy. Consuming fat is a part of the balanced diet. It helps in pulling the fat-soluble toxins, thus triggering fat metabolism, which help the body to burn fat as a fuel.
Good For Intestines: Ghee is rich in butyric acid that improves the health of the intestinal walls as they use butyric acid as the source of energy.
Good For Skin: The fatty acids present in ghee acts as a natural nourishing agent that helps in providing soft and supple skin. Ladies since ancient times used to apply it on their body to attain glowing and softer skin.
Maintains Body Temperature: As ghee is a rich source of energy, ingesting it helps in keeping the body warm. Consuming it in winters helps to keep the body warm from inside.
Ghee Vs Butter
Both are made from Cow’s milk. Ghee is higher in saturated fats as compared to butter. It contains much lower levels of dairy proteins, like casein and lactose than the regular butter.
The ghee is proper for cooking as it can be heated to high temperatures. It also blends easily with every preparation enhancing the taste and providing aroma.
Buying Guide
Ghee is an essential part of diet for most of the people in South-Eastern Asia. The benefit of consuming ghee is known since ancient times. Purchasing a quality ghee is essential for the health of the family. Quality products often comes with a price. The factors that help consumers to select, a perfect ghee are:
Price: This is one of the main factors for any consumer. Every household has a budget to procure the daily necessities. The best quality ghee often comes with a price. Consumers selects a quality ghee based on the permitted budget.
Quality Of Milk: Ghee is a milk product and made from the milk of cows. Cows are categorized, into A1 and A2. A1 cows are of Western origin like Jersey, Holstein Fresian that yields a large quantity of milk. This milk is cheaper to buy, but the ghee produced from this type of milk is not of such high quality.
A2 cows are desi cows, their yield of milk is much lower than that of A1 cows. The milk of A2 cows is much creamier and suits best in its production.
A2 cows like Red Sindhi, Rathi, Sahiwal, Kankrej and Tharparkar are the best breed of cows, and the milk from this grass-fed A2 cows from farms produces the best ghee.
Manufacturing Process: Ghee made by using the traditional Bilona method of extracting butter from curd through constant churning produces the best ghee. This method finds its inscription in ancient scriptures. The ghee produced by this traditional Bilona method has a higher shelf life than the usual ghee made by machines.
Shelf Life: Shelf life of an unopened jar of traditional ghee is about a year. The shelf life of an open jar is about three months. Companies preparing large quantities of ghee, add preservatives to increase the shelf life. It should be pure without any such added preservatives or hydrogenated oils.
Containers: Ghee stored in a glass jar increases its shelf life. The lid of the container should be airtight and sealed. Those stored in a tin or plastic jars have a shorter shelf life and loses its purity with time.
Adulteration: The pure ghee should be completely free of any adulteration, such as added fragrance, colours, hydrogenated oils and added preservatives.
Nikwik provides an unbiased review of ghee, based on extensive research. This is an honest review and not sponsored by any company or organisation.
Top 5 A2 Cow Ghee In India
Shree Radhey A2 Gir Cow Ghee: This ghee is a quality product of Shree Radhey Dairy Farm in Rajasthan. Prepared from grass-fed A2 Gir cow’s milk, this organic ghee is free from gluten and other adulterations or added preservatives. Cow’s in this farm are not subjected to any genetic engineering.
Prepared using the traditional Bilona method of churning butter from curd without using any commercial machines, it is available in sealed glass containers.
The range of containers includes 300 ml, 500 ml, 1 litre, 5 litres, and 15 litres so consumers can select based on their requirements. Glass jars are used in packing to 1 litre, while tin jars are used in packing for 5 litres and 15-litres.
Quality-wise this ghee is satisfactory but could have been better. It has a satisfactory flavour, aroma, and light yellowish texture that blend, easily with food preparations. It has good health benefits and helps as a natural moisturizer in the face and body massage.
The packaging is not to the mark as the plastic wrapper around the glass jar tends to come out quickly. It perceives an oily feeling with feeble aroma and density.
Vedic A2 Gir Cow Ghee by Kesariya Farm: This ghee is a product of Kesariya farms in Maharashtra. Prepared from A2 Gir Cow’s milk that is farm-fed. This ghee is organic and free from any added preservatives. The cows of this farm are maintained with great care, and no chemical milk enhancer medicines or hormones are provided to the cows.
Bilona method of churning curd is used in the preparation of this ghee using the traditional method. Kesariya farms invite people to visit their farms to have an on-hand experience of its preparation. It is available in sealed glass containers only and is free from any adulterations or added preservatives.
Quality-wise this ghee is good. It has small grains that pure product should have along with good flavour and aroma. It has a light yellowish texture and enhances the taste of any preparation.
The ghee is dense, and The aroma of the ghee is on a milder side when added to food preparations. It has genuine health benefits and helps as a natural moisturizer in the face and body massage. Its regular consumption enhances physical and mental strength for a balanced and active lifestyle
The packaging of this ghee is good, available in sealed glass jar containers only in 250 ml, 500 ml, and 1 litre capacity.
GirOrganic A2 Pure Ghee: This ghee is a premium product of the Girorganic farm situated in Gujrat. They have two farms, one in Surat and the other in Chotta Udaipur. It is prepared from only the top quality A2 Cow’s milk that is farm-fed. No hormonal injections are provided to the cows, and the health of their cows gets monitored regularly.
The fodder provided to the cows comes directly from the farm and is grown using the manure produced on the farm. The ghee is made by the Bilona method using machines imported from Switzerland by churning curd to extract the butter.
The milking of the cows is done only after the calf is fed by their mothers. The entire milking process is through machines without human touch. This ghee is free of adulterations and any added preservatives.
A genuine organic product, light yellow in texture that is thick jelly-like, and has subtle grains in it making it blend easily with food preparations and enhancing the taste and imparting aroma in them.
Quality-wise this ghee is good with adequate flavour aroma, and density. It enhances the taste of food considerably with its flavour and aroma. It is medically beneficial as well and used as a natural moisturizer in the face and body massage.
This ghee imparts warmth to the body, helps in clearing blocked nasal passages and increasing immunity. It also reduces serum cholesterol, prevents migraine, and treats asthma.
The packaging of this ghee is good and is available in sealed glass jar containers of only 250 ml, 500 ml, and 1 litre.
Nanak Dairy Premium A2 Desi Cow Ghee: This ghee is a product of Nanak Dairy Farm situated in Haryana. It is prepared, from the milk of A2 Sahiwal Cow which is creamier. In this dairy, the calf of the mother cow is fed first, and the remaining milk from the cow is used to produce a quality product.
The cows are farm-fed with grass and other essential ingredients and medicinal herbs that maintain the health of a cow and never given any hormonal injections. The health of the Cows is monitored regularly. It is free from any adulterations and added preservatives.
Ghee is prepared by hand churning the curd using the traditional Bilona method to separate butter from curd then heating the ghee using the latest machines and keeping the nutritional values intact. Ghee is available in sealed glass containers and has a shelf life of a year.
A premium organic product that is rich in flavour and aroma with a light yellow texture. The aroma of this ghee is really soothing and easily blends in any preparation and enhances the taste of the preparation.
The ghee itself has grains and is a thick jelly-like that is equally good for health and can be used as a moisturizer for the body. Its aroma remains in hand even after eating the food. It can be used to clear nasal passages for clogged noses, and migraine and improves the immunity of the body.
The packaging of this ghee is good and is available in sealed glass jar containers of only 500 ml and 1 litre.
Gir Ahinsak Gau Ghee: This premium quality ghee is a product of Bansi Gir Gaushala of Ahmedabad in Gujrat. This farm has been awarded the Kamdhenu award for 2017 by the government of India as the best farm. Quality A2 Gir cows are reared on this farm, and each cow is treated as a member of the family and respected.
The fodder fed to the cows and the cleanliness of the farm is top-notch. Cows are also fed with grass of the farm along with medicinal herbs that keep them healthy. Cows are never treated with artificial insemination or hormonal treatments. This product is free from any adulterations or added preservatives.
A2 Gir cow’s milk is extracted by hand only when the calf has attained its milk from the mother. The ghee itself is made using the traditional Bilona method of extracting cream from curd with hands by using a wooden churner. The cream is heated in earthen pots to maintain its quality. It is available in sealed glass containers and has a shelf life of a year.
A superb quality product that is rich in flavour and aroma with a light yellow texture. Its aroma and flavour are just awesome. It blends with any food preparation and enhances the taste substantially.
The ghee itself has grains and is thick jelly-like and excels in quality, taste, and aroma it imparts to any food preparations. The aroma lasts for a long time, this is the premium quality product passing all the parameters of true and authentic and traditional ghee.
It is equally good for health and can be applied as a moisturizer to the body and face. It improves digestion and intelligence controls cholesterol, increases the immunity of the body, clears nasal passages, and helps in blood circulation by removing cholesterol.
The packaging of this ghee is good and is available in sealed glass jar containers of only 500 ml and 1 litre.
(2 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)