Ghee Vs. Butter: Which Is Healthier?

Can you even fathom a world without butter? Whether you use it to cook or bake savory foods, desserts, and pastries, or reach for it when sautéing, grilling, or frying, butter makes everything better. So much so that butter is considered to be superior to olive oil, says HuffPost. After all, you wouldn't put olive oil on toast for breakfast now, would you? However, there is a type of clarified butter that is taking a lot of people's attention — it's called ghee — and there's good reason why you should know about it.

In general terms, butter is made by churning milk, usually cow's milk. Ghee, on the other hand, is a type of clarified butter that's produced by heating butter until the liquid separates and the milk caramelizes into solids, leaving behind only the oil. That oil is what is known as ghee, according to Healthline. 

Another Healthline article says that ghee has been around for thousands of years and is a staple in Indian and Pakistani cooking. The website explains that ghee was originally created from butter by removing all its milk solids. This was done so that the butter wouldn't spoil in warm weather. (Since all the milk solids are removed, ghee does not require refrigeration.) In fact, it can be stored at room temperature for weeks, and it will turn solid in cold temperatures just like coconut oil.

You may notice a difference in taste between ghee and butter. Since the making of ghee removes all of the milk solids, it can create a wholly different taste and mouthfeel. The article notes that while butter has a soft, creamy, and rich texture with a hint of sweetness, ghee does not. On the flip side, ghee usually has a nuttier, slightly roasted flavor. 

This is because of the process of making it that requires butter to be heated up until the milk solids separate and sink to the bottom of the pan, where they turn golden brown and start giving off a toasted aroma. It's a process similar to that of making brown matter or beurre noisette (via Masterclass).

However, Milkio notes that the taste of both butter and ghee largely depends on the brand purchased and is based on the quality of the milk that each brand uses in the making of their product.

Butter makes just about anything better and is used in all kinds of recipes. Cook's Illustrated shares a few tricks to make the most of cooking with butter. They recommend using it cold and unsoftened to create flaky pastries and cookies, noting that by adding chunks of cold, solid butter to the dough, it will give your baked goods lovely pockets of air as the butter melts while baking. Cold butter can also be added to a pan sauce right before serving to make it extra rich. If you're using butter to sauté, the article recommends waiting until it stops foaming, an indicator that it's hot enough to use. Though, as noted previously, for high-heat cooking, ghee is a preferred choice.

While ghee is used for most Indian dishes, there are many other ways to benefit from it, too. Since it adds a nutty flavor to whatever it is cooked with, Healthline recommends pouring melted ghee over popcorn, steamed vegetables, and corn on the cob. Adding ghee on top of vegetables before roasting them will also give a caramelized texture. Ghee is also great to add to pans to prevent sticking, as in the case of scrambled eggs. The site recommends it as a great condiment for mashed and baked potatoes as well.