Ghee is the Indian version of clarified butter with a slightly nutty taste from the milk solids browning during the heating process. Butter simmers for a long time until the liquid ghee separates from the milk solids.
When a recipe calls for it, do you know where to find ghee in grocery store aisles?
You will find ghee in the baking aisle, with the cooking oils, shortening, sugar, flour, and other baking items. If you don’t find ghee in the baking aisle, it might be in an aisle with other ethnic foods.
If you don’t find ghee in either place, it might also be with in canned goods section.
What does ghee look like in the supermarket?
Look for plastic or glass jars of ghee. It’s yellow like butter, but the color sometimes leans towards a golden orange hue when compared to the paleness of standard butter. Some brands make packets of ghee, and a few even package it in a squeezable plastic bottle, like ketchup.
Ghee is a type of clarified butter, but ghee has no moisture or milk solid. It doesn’t need refrigeration like regular butter.
What is the price of ghee?
Beneficial Blends ghee is $7, Walmart’s Great Value ghee is $8, and Simple Truth Organic ghee is $10. These are all prices for a 13-ounce bottle, so you can see how prices vary.
The price of ghee varies according to the size of the jar and the brand you buy.
Simple Truth Organic also sells packets of ghee for easy portability. These are nice if you only need a small portion and don’t want to open a large jar. Eight packets of half an ounce of ghee each cost $9.
You can find more sizes and brands of ghee online, often at lower prices. However, you should also factor in the shipping costs, as well as how long you’ll have to wait for the product to arrive.
What are the best brands of ghee to buy?
There are several brands of ghee on the market. In addition to store brands, some of the best choices are:
- Ancient Organics: Get it here
- Pure Indian Foods: Get it here
- 4th & Heart
- Tin Star Foods
- Organic Valley
Where to buy Ghee near me?
Some of the top grocery stores where you can buy ghee include:
- Walmart – Walmart is the biggest grocery chain in the United States. Their Supercenters have a grocery side that typically carries ghee in the same aisle as other oils and baking items.
- Kroger – The Kroger stores that carry ghee also keep it in the same aisle as the cooking oils.
- Costco – If you’re wondering where to find ghee in grocery store aisles in a Costco and it’s not with the oils, try looking in the aisle with the nut butter and jams.
- Albertson’s – This grocery store categorizes ghee with other oils.
- Aldi – Look for ghee in the baking aisle with the oils and cake mixes.
- Meijer – This midwestern chain categorizes ghee in the baking aisle.
- Publix – The southern and southeastern grocery chain keeps the ghee with the oils and baking items.
Smaller stores might put ghee with other Indian or Asian condiments or in the aisle that contains a mix of things they haven’t categorized. Some small stores might not carry ghee at all.
How to buy Ghee online
Since ghee is shelf-stable unopened in jars, it doesn’t have to be refrigerated until it’s open. This feature makes it easy to buy online without the hassle and added expense of needing a cold pack for shipping.
You can buy ghee online anywhere that carries grocery items. Some of the top places to buy ghee online include:
- Amazon – The most challenging part of buying things here is choosing from the dozens of available options. If you have Amazon Prime, shipping is free, and you can get it the next day in most places.
- Walmart – If you don’t want to go to your local Walmart, you can order ghee to be delivered instead.
- Target – You can pick up ghee in some Target stores, but you can also order it online.
- Kroger – This grocery store will ship pantry items to most addresses.
- Thrive Market – Thrive Market is a popular specialty store that requires a yearly membership but has a thriving fanbase on YouTube.
Any online store that ships pantry items that don’t require refrigeration will probably have at least one brand of ghee.
How long does store-bought ghee last after opening?
Store-bought ghee keeps for six months after opening when you store it in a dark pantry or cabinet. You can keep it in the fridge for up to a year after it’s opened.
How to properly store ghee?
Before you open a jar of ghee, you can store it in a dark place at room temperature, like in a kitchen cabinet or the pantry. It will stay fresh for up to nine months.
Once you’ve opened a jar of ghee, you can still keep it in the cabinet or pantry. Ensure you close the lid tightly after every use and it will stay fresh for six months.
If you keep the open jar of ghee in the refrigerator, it will stay fresh for up to a year. Since this doubles the lifespan, it’s the best option for storage unless you’re sure you’ll use it all within six months.
Should ghee be refrigerated?
Yes and no—ghee doesn’t have to stay in the refrigerator, but it will last longer if you keep it there. Ghee kept in the pantry will last six months, but that time doubles when you keep it in the refrigerator.
What can i use instead of Ghee?
Try one of these three alternatives next time your recipe calls for ghee or clarified butter. See full list of ghee substitutes.
Butter
Butter is the obvious choice as an alternative. This option won’t have the nutty flavor from the browned milk solids, but it will give the dish the necessary buttery flavor. Use fresh butter in a 1:1 ratio, meaning the same amount of butter as ghee.
Try to use real dairy butter instead of margarine for both flavor and texture, but margarine will work, also. Even vegan butter made from oil works as a ghee substitute if necessary.
If you plan to cook the dish over very high heat for very long, you might want to clarify the butter yourself to give it a higher smoke point and avoid scorching or burning.
Homemade Clarified Butter
This option isn’t as fast and easy as using the same amount of refrigerated butter, but as far as flavor and texture, it’s the best option. The butter will have a higher smoke point like ghee and a slightly richer flavor than butter.
To make homemade clarified butter, melt salted butter in a saucepan. Let it simmer for about 15 minutes. Don’t stir, and the solids will start to separate from the liquid. Remove the pan from the heat and let it sit for five or ten minutes. Then skim off the foam on the surface.
Carefully pour off or strain the liquid from the pan, leaving the milk solids behind. Store the extra liquid you don’t use in your recipe in the refrigerator. You can melt the solids left behind to use in recipes or over food like popcorn or vegetables.
When you’re making clarified butter, remember that it must be butter. Margarine is chemically different from butter and can’t be clarified.
Oil
While any oil will work as a replacement, olive oil has a slightly rich, nutty taste that will provide a similar flavor profile better than other oil. High-quality extra virgin olive oil will provide better flavor than more refined oils.
To use olive oil as a replacement, use three-quarters the amount of oil as you would ghee. For example, if a recipe calls for a cup of ghee, you should use three-quarters of a cup of olive oil. If a recipe calls for a one-half cup or four ounces of ghee, use three ounces of olive oil.
If you only have canola, safflower, avocado, or corn or vegetable oils, you can use any one of those as a ghee substitute at three-fourths the amount, too.
Coconut oil is solid at room temperature and chemically structured closer to ghee than liquid oils. To use coconut oil instead of ghee, you can use the same amount as the ghee called for in the recipe.
