Ancient Organics Ghee (Organic)

Ghee FAQ

Why do you make your ghee on the full or waxing moons?
Why do you use the mahamrtunjaya mantra while you make the ghee?
Should ghee be stored in the refrigerator?
Is there any lactose in ghee?
Why do you call your ghee artisanal?

Why do you make your ghee on the full or waxing moons?
For tens of thousands of years the ancient cultures of the world have noticed a relationship between the ever changing appearance of the moon and the quality of things, happenings and events on earth. Pre-Industrial cultures paid close attention to the phases of the moon in all aspects of their farming, harvesting, planting, milking, hunting, and food preparation. They recognized and sought to work with the forces in nature that surrounded them. It was considered highly ignorant not to do so, similar to what we now call 'swimming against the tide'. You can do it, but it is difficult, and one often goes in the opposite direction from which you intend.

Some of this ancient wisdom still survives: In the West today, in many of the villages of rural Italy, Mozzarella is only made on the waxing or full moons. In the Vedic culture of ancient India and still in the village cultures of that land, ghee is still made on the full or waxing moons. This period of the moon cycle is known in the Indian culture as the 'shukla paksh' or the white part of the moon. All the qualities that the moon represents increase to their maximum during the growing phase of the moon cycle. The moon is considered to rule or control 'soma', the juice or essence of plants and of life itself. The Vedas also speak of milk as the essence of grass or plants and consider ghee to be the essence of milk. As we consider this larger picture, it becomes more clear how making ghee in the shukla paksh or 'rising tide' of increasing lunar influence plays a critical role in producing the very best ghee.

Why do you use the mahamrtunjaya mantra while you make the ghee?
Like the moon, there is more to making exquisite ghee than just the fact that we use the very best organic butter. It is also important to create a harmonious, benign, relaxed and 'healing' environment in the vibrations of the space we make our ghee. One of the ways we create this effect is by the sounds, music and meaning of the repetitive chanting of the Mahamrtunjaya Mantra. There is a vast difference between the feeling sense communicated in Heavy Metal and the Four Season by Vivaldi. Each of them has something to 'say' but I would not want to eat a fine dinner to just any music. The quality of any sound and music plays a large role and has definite effects, just like the moon.

The ancient Mahamrtunjaya Mantra was traditionally used to make ghee. It is a sacred prayer for liberation and was used for its healing and balancing effects. To make ghee in the all day atmosphere of this mantra is like diving into the ocean, you come out wet all over with water. It soaks into our minds through our ears and bodies and flavors our emotions and ghee. To hear one of the versions of the Mahamrtunjaya Mantra that we use click HERE.

Should ghee be stored in the refrigerator?
Two things will ruin ghee. They are (1) moisture and (2) sunlight. Moisture will cause a mold to grow that will cause the ghee to sour. A good and easy way you can tell if the ghee has gone sour is to smell it. If it does not smell sweet, it has spoiled. This is not a toxic mold or toxic process, but, it is not considered a good ghee for eating. Sunlight will cause ghee to oxidize and lose its nourishing and ojas-producing qualities. Ojas is the most subtle or refined level of substance, in life and in the body one can think of it as the 'sap' of life.

We recommend that you keep your ghee in a dark, cool, temperature stable place. If you cannot do that, keep your ghee in a refrigerator. If you take your ghee in and out of a refrigerator, condensation will form on the inside of the lid and sides of the jar. If you use the ghee in a week or so, this should be no problem. Once again, you can gauge the 'condition' of your ghee by smelling it. It should smell sweet. Much of the ghee on the market today is never sweet, so you may not know what ghee is supposed to smell like. This is what happens when a tradition becomes lost, people no longer know what a thing or quality is supposed to be. They have lost the memory. We want to restore that tradition by giving form to the memory.

When you use your ghee, take from the jar, only the amount that you are going to use there and then. Do not keep an open jar of ghee next to the stove when you are cooking as the moisture and steam that settle there will spoil the ghee. Also, do not use a damp or wet spoon to dip into your ghee. If some moisture or a piece of food fall into your bottle, do not despair, just refrigerate your ghee from then on and use it relatively quickly. Remember, you can always test your ghee by smelling it.

Is there any lactose in ghee?
In properly made ghee, there is no lactose or milk sugar. Many people are lactose intolerant and ghee is perfect for them. Sometimes people ask if our ghee is pasteurized. They are concerned with whether the ghee may be indigestible due to using pasteurized milk/butter. We agree that pasteurizing milk destroys the enzyme lactase that digests the milk sugar lactose. But, because ghee has no lactose in it, this is not an issue whatsoever. We boil our butter at approximately 217 degrees Fahrenheit for several hours. This is higher than most of the pasteurization temperatures except for ultra-pasteurization. For thousands of years, ghee was considered to be the most easily digestible of fats and was known to help with the digestion of other foods.

According to Ayurveda, much lactose intolerance is due to the pasteurization, homogenization, and ultra-pasteurization of milk. These are considered to be destructive processes, changing the qualities of milk into a destructive and toxic substance. In addition, here in the west, the qualities of milk are not accounted for and milk is usually taken cold and un-spiced, increasing the difficulty of digestion. There are many factors that need to be considered when looking at lactose intolerance.

Why do you call your ghee artisanal?
There are many ways to make ghee. Recently, at a food fair, a person came up to us and told us 'The way' to make ghee involving a vacuum which would lower the boiling point of the butter and a 'steam jacketed boiling system' so that our ghee would never burn. When he told us this, I realized a critical part of what makes our ghee so special. Because we make our ghee on fire in an open pot on a stove, we always burn the milk solids on the bottom of the pot. (This is because the fire is much hotter on the the very bottom of the pot). We do not use the burned material on the bottom of the pot, but nonetheless, this burned material seems to flavor the ghee with a rich deep taste.

We make our ghee the ancient and 'old fashioned' way. This is a method that can only be done in small batches and cannot be mass produced. The ghee needs to be watched closely towards the end as if it is cooked too long, the burning will go too far and the taste of the ghee will be ruined. It is this handmade, small 'batch' scale that makes our ghee artisanal in both technique and taste. Of course the use of mantra and the consideration of time in terms of the full or waxing moon take the use of the term 'artisanal' to a level used in ancient times.

Cows and Buffalos

In India, Ghee is made from both Cow and Buffalo milk. If we consider the qualities of both of these animals, we can see why cow Ghee is to be preferred as a superior source. Cows have a more moderate make-up of fat. If we look at the difference in the bodies of a Buffalo and a cow, the buffalo is more heavily muscled; it is a denser animal in its makeup. The Ghee of a Cow is in liquid form at body temperature. The Ghee of a Buffalo is still slightly solid. Buffalo will eat almost any food, even spoiled food, while Cows in their natural environment, will turn away from such fare. Buffalos are often quite dirty and smell more strongly than Cows. Cows tend to be clean and like little dirt on their bodies. Cows smell quite good as I have experienced, when I stopped to stroke them and smell them on the streets of India where they roam about, ubiquitously, slowly and peacefully. Because of all these qualities and many more, Buffalo milk and Ghee are considered dulling or darkening, tamasic, while Cow milk and Ghee are considered more pure and purifying, sattvic.

When I asked my Indian acquaintances why there is a growing use of Buffalo milk and ghee over Cow milk and Ghee, they all said, it is only because a Buffalo gives more milk than a cow. In India, there is increasing use of Buffalo Ghee. Even in Vrndavan, the home of Sri Krishna, who himself was a cowherd, protector of the cows-Govinda, I was unable to find anything but Buffalo Ghee in the marketplace. You can always tell the difference because Buffalo Ghee is white and Cow ghee is yellow.

Cow Ghee is used in lamps in temples and pujas all over India. It is said that the light of a Ghee lamp is more beautiful and brilliant than any other light. The light of burning Ghee is said to ward off negativity and evil influence. It is traditionally considered, that the older the Ghee, the better its healing qualities. 100-year-old Ghee is highly valued in India and fetches a very high price. Such Ghee was often kept in Temples in large vats and this aged Ghee is passed on from generation to generation within families. It is used externally.

"Amongst living beings, always honor cows" -Dharma Sastra

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