A widely consumed dairy product in India, ghee or clarified butter, is an important ingredient in many households. Made of cow’s milk, ghee was primarily used to cook food before vegetable oils came into being. Finding pure ghee is difficult due to a slew of possible ways of adulterating it. So, here are 5 ways of checking the purity of ghee.
5 Easy tests
PALM TEST
If a teaspoon of ghee melts in your palm by itself, it is pure.
HEAT TEST
Take a teaspoon of ghee in a vessel and heat it. If the ghee melts immediately and turns darkish brown in colour, it is pure.
BOTTLE TEST
Take a teaspoon of melted ghee in a transparent bottle. Add a pinch of sugar to it. Shake the bottle vigorously and let it stand for 5 minutes. If the bottom of the bottle displays a red tint, it indicates the presence of vegetable oil.
DOUBLE-BOILER TEST
Keep a pan of simmering water and a flat bottom pan over it. Melt ghee in a glass jar. Keep this jar in the fridge for sometime. If there are two distinct layers, the presence of coconut oil is verified.
IODINE TEST
Add two drops of iodine solution to a small quantity of melted ghee. If the sample turns purple, the ghee is tainted with starch, and must be avoided by all costs.
So the next time you purchase ghee, you’ll be sure it’s pure!
