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HOW WE MAKE OUR GHEE
COMPARING ANCIENT ORGANIC GHEE WITH OTHER BRANDS
OF GHEE
ABOUT ANCIENT ORGANICS
SNEHANA, HEALING AND OTHER QUALITIES OF GHEE
COW AND BUFFALO GHEE COMPARED
MAKING GHEE IN AMERICA
MAKING GHEE IN INDIA
STRAUS DAIRY THE SOURCE OF OUR BUTTER
Our Ghee is Rated #1
An independent website has compared 8 different ghees available in the United States today. We were greatly pleased to see our ghee was rated #1. Please click on the link below to see the article.- COMPARING ANCIENT ORGANIC GHEE WITH OTHER BRANDS OF GHEE -
An Ayurvedic perspective
Perhaps you are reading this because you have
heard about one or another of the unique qualities of Ghee and
want to find out more. Perhaps, if you have heard from an Ayurvedic
or a Yoga practitioner, they might have told you about Ghee
as a Vedic rasayana or medicine-Aushadha and its long and celebrated
history of healing properties. Or, they might have told you
about its use in the culture of India for preparing healthy
and very tasty food-Ahara for thousands of years. As you might
surmise, Ghee is a substance that is well known and valued as
both a food and a medicine.
In my studies of Ayurveda, I have learned that Medicines
do not create the tissues-dhatus. Food-ahara is the only thing
that creates tissues. In fact, many older Ayurvedic Teachers,
Vaidyas, used to say, If you do not want to eat my diet (food),
do not bother to take my medicines. The use of food
as medicine and medicine as food is one of the unique and
wonderful qualities of Ayurveda and is also one of the unique
attributes of the substance known as Ghee.
The milk of cows is considered to possess
the essence or sap of all plants and Ghee is the essence of
milk. When we consider Ghee we are in the company of superlatives.
In India, it has been so highly regarded for so many things,
for so long, that one enters into
a crowded river of praise.
The ingestion of Ghee is like offering the finest of fuels
into the fires of digestion- Agni. Accordingly, Ghee builds
the aura, makes all the organs soft, builds up the internal
juices of the body, Rasa, which aging destroys and increases
the most refined element of digestion, Shukra, or Ojas- the
basis of all immunity in the body. Ghee is known to increase
intelligence, Dhi, refine the intellect, Buddhi, and improve
the memory, Smrti. Although Ghee kindles or increases
Agni, the digestive fire on which all nutrition depends, it
does so without aggravating Pitta, the elemental functioning
of fire within the body. In fact, Ghee cools the body, essential
in a world in which everything is overheating.
Ghee causes secretions and liquification in the dhatus, bodily
tissues that dissolve wastes allowing the functional intelligences
of the body, doshas, to carry away waste/toxins, Ama.
Snehana
Sneha is a Sanskrit term meaning to express
by touch, love, happiness, caring. It is the feeling and the
knowing that someone cares for you and the feeling of being
comforted and cherished. The Ayurvedic texts talk of four Substances
for Snehana- the application of oily substances on the body.
They are Taila - Oil, Vasa - animal Fat, Majja-
Bone marrow, and Ghrita- Ghee. Of all of these Ghee was considered
to be superior. Ghee is the superior form of Sneha-Uttamasneha.
In Ancient India, wells were made, full of Ghee,
that were saved for times of war, especially for those who suffered
wounds. When a surgeon cuts open a body, he only does so knowing
that the body will be able to heal itself. The surgeon cannot
do this. Ghee is known for the quality of Ropana, healing, and
its effectiveness in facilitating recovery from wounds is legendary. In Ayurveda,
when a person has a chronic peptic ulcer or gastritis, Ghee
is used to heal that ulcer inside the intestinal tract. Ghee
works wondrously on bedsores for the elderly or debilitated.
It is applied for broken bones and bruises. It is highly effective
for all sorts of skin rashes. It is also used on burns of both
fire and chemicals. Once, I accidentally got some sandalwood
oil in my eye. It burned intensely and I was unable to wash
it out with a variety of different eyewashes. I spent hours
in pain and finally I remembered to use Ghee. Almost immediately,
the Ghee pacified the burning and the eye irritation ceased.
Ghee increases the overall strength, luster and beauty of
the Sarira-the body. Let us look at a variety of ways:
Used on the skin, Ghee softens and strengthens, protects and
nourishes. Up until the last generation in India, there used
to be men who gave Ghee massages on the street. It was always
the preferred substance for the skin, but, since it was more
expensive than oil it has come to be used only for internal purposes.
For generations, Indians have used Ghee for cooking, as an
added measure on top of their food and as a medicine. It was
used especially for old and young. With new babies, Mothers in India will
massage their children daily with Ghee. For those in the
last days of their life it is wonderful. I massaged my Fathers body with it
every day in the weeks and months before he passed away. Sometimes, when he
could not sleep, I rubbed it on his feet and temples and it
soothed his agitation. It is the best substance for self-massage,
Abhyanga.
Qualities
Ghee is known as a Rasayana, a substance
that gives longevity. This is because it has opposite qualities,
and thus pacifying effects, to the light, dry and rough, qualities
of Vata dosha- the increase of the qualities of Vata are synonymous
with aging. Ghee, in a very sure and steady way, slows the aging
process by balancing and bringing 'juice-Rasa to the living
one.
Ghee has the quality of Snigda, oiliness, and unctuousness.
It is smooth, lubricated and nurturing. Ghee is thought to
make the voice soft and melodious.
Ghee is Guru, heavy. It increases the qualities of Kapha and decreases Pitta and Vata, which are both light.
Ghee has the quality of mrdu, softness. In Ayurvedic Panchakarma treatments, Ghee is the oil used on the eyes. In Netra Basti,
a small dam is built around the eyes and filled with warm Ghee.
Then, you open your eyes to its soothing softness. It seems
after that treatment, that you see the world though a soft diaphanous
curtain of love and loveliness.
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, ìIt 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.
Making Organic
Ghee in America
Ghee is the most refined end product of milk.
(When you make Ghee, you are distilling or concentrating the
quality of the milk you started with. This includes, antibiotics,
hormones, chemical pesticides, etc. For this reason, one should
always use the best 'organic' milk you can find. Try not to use ultra-pasteurized milk.)
Here is how we obtain ghee from milk: When you milk
a cow, you get whole milk. If you let this milk sit for a while,
cream rises to the top. If you skim off the cream and then churn
it, after a while and all of a sudden, the fat globules will
begin to stick to each other and form butter. What is left over
is buttermilk.
In America today, very little butter is churned the old fashioned
way. Most modern dairies, even organic ones,
no longer churn their cream to make butter. In a typical dairy
in America, cream is now pushed through a fine mesh stainless steel screen
in which the heavier and larger molecules of butter are held
on one side of the screen while the smaller molecules of buttermilk
pass on through. I asked an Ayurvedic Teacher-Vaidya
about what difference this makes. He said that butter made
without churning is lacking in a quality of Fire, Agni. He
went further in his consideration of difference; the home-based
Indian culture churns their cream with a hand churn, rolling
it back and forth between their hands. This back and forth
action, he said, imparts a particular balancing quality to
the Ghee- instead of the one way churning of a gear driven
churn.
When we consider the process of butter making at this level,
we are in the realm of subtlety, but it is in exactly this
realm that much of what is pure and purifying, sattvic, is
found.
Once you have obtained your butter, heat it in a heavy stainless
steel or enamel pot over a low flame. As it begins to boil,
moisture evaporates off and whitish cloudy milk solids rise
to the top and sink to the bottom. Do not stir it. After an
hour and half to several hours, depending on the amount and
the size of the pot and the amount of Ghee compared to the
flame, your Ghee will be ready. This moment
is very critical. If you cook the Ghee too little, you will
be left with moisture in the Ghee and it will lack the exquisite
taste that it can develop. Also, it will not keep as long without
some souring. If you cook it too much, it will burn and impart
a certain nutty flavor to the Ghee. This does not ruin the
Ghee at all, but it is to be noticed, so that over time you
can capture the perfect Ghee to be experienced between these
two extremes.
After the Ghee is done, you skim off the top light crust
of whitish or slightly brown milk solids, if any- this can vary. The heavier ones at the bottom
of the pot are traditionally used to make sweets. Children
in India love them and always plead with their Mothers to
have the leftovers when Ghee is made.
Then, you pour the golden, sweet-smelling liquid through
doubled over cheesecloth- to catch any last impurities and
finally bottle it, leaving the burned milk solids (caramelized
lactose) on the bottom of the pot you cooked it in. Be sure
to not close the glass jar into which you pour the hot Ghee
until it comes to room temperature. The reason for this is
that there not be any moisture from condensation that
might form on the inside of the jar. It is moisture that spoils
Ghee, allowing mold to grow and quickly causing it to go bad.
This is the reason that you always use a clean and dry spoon
to take your Ghee out of its container. One way to test if ghee is good is to smell it. If ghee smells sweet or 'nutty' it is good. If it does not smell this way, do not use it internally.
Making Ghee
in India
There is one very important difference
in the way Ghee is made in India. The Indians start
out with milk from a cow, just like in America. But, they do
not let the cream rise to the top and skim it off as we do in
the West. Instead, and here comes the key difference- they culture
the milk with yogurt, allowing it to sit for 4-5 hours,
before it becomes completely soured. Then they churn the whole
milk to make butter. From that point on, the process is more or less the same.
This culturing with yogurt introduces another form of Fire,
Agni, into the substance of refining the milk into butter
and ultimately Ghee.
In my visit to modern day India, it was very hard
to find pure cow Ghee. First of all, the commercial milk,
cream and butter there are now all homogenized and ultra-pasteurized.
According to Ayurvedic Vaidyas I have consulted with, both
of these factors(ultra-pasteurization and homegenization) increase the Vata (air and ether/destructive,
catabolic, drying, rough) qualities in what was originally
a very Kapha (earth and water, building, oily, tonifying anabolic)
substance-milk. Some of these processes, like homogenization,
make the milk, and thus the cream and butter, indigestible.
Ultra-pasteurization creates a substance that will not spoil for a long time,
even without refrigeration. (This is a process whereby milk is heated to a higher temperature
than pasteurization for a shorter period of time. This kills
and destroys various living substances/enzymes in the milk
thus prolonging shelf life). This substantially changes the
Gunas or qualities of milk making it indigestible, according
to the Ayurvedic Doctor I studied with in India.
When boiling ghee, we have found the temperature to be about 198degress/ farenheit- a temperature sustained for several hours.
In America, although
organic dairies are showing up all over the country, most
of them make their butter by extrusion and more and more
Organic Dairies homogenize and ultra-pasteurize their milk
. This is not true of all milks
available, but, like in Vrndavan, India, the tides of ignorance relative
to our processing of food and the subsequent effects on our
health are increasing.
About Ancient
Organics
In the beginning, everything was (and is)
organic, a so-called part of the Whole and in constant contact
with the Whole... Like an individual wave rising from the ocean,
the wave is not separate from the vast expanse of the ocean.
Just so, anything truly organic is ancient, original and whole
and anything original or ancient is organic.
We have named our company Ancient Organics to point to this
Truth and the principle it represents. In the most ancient
culture of the world, the Vedic culture, there were ways of
doing things and creating things in accordance with the Whole.
One of these 'things' was Ghee.
We ourselves have been so wonderfully pleased with the introduction
of Ghee into our lives through massage and cooking that we
felt strongly we should share that benefit with others. That
is much of the impulse behind Ancient Organics. We want to
make a contribution and we want to make a living.
Straus
Dairy the Source of our Butter
As mentioned before, Ghee is the essence or
distillation of milk. Whatever is in the milk, is concentrated
in Butter and then further concentrated in Ghee. Obviously the
cows and their treatment, the whole environment of where our
milk and butter come from plays an essential role in our product.
Well, let me tell you where these cows live their daily life;
Under the sun and clouds and on the softly rolling green hills
of Western Marin County, up the coast about 40 miles from San
Francisco. The Straus Ranch is out in the country, away from
any traffic and filled with the abundant blessings of an undisturbed
nature. Anyone who loves the open country would love this land.
The winds blow in fresh from the ocean, which is only a few
miles away as the crow flies. The cows graze on open hillsides
and only receive Homeopathic remedies or aspirin for any sickness
(no antibiotics).
Everything is organic: the fields, the hay, the milk and
the butter, the home grown silage and legumes. Straus cows
are total vegetarians. Straus milks their cows three times
a day to reduce stress on the animals. Straus churns their
cream to make butter and does not extrude it. They have won
the award for 'Best Butter in America' from House and Garden
Magazine. Their butter has the highest butterfat content of
any butter on the market in the United States today.
Straus uses only hydrogen peroxide to clean their tubes, buckets and containers. Unlike almost all other dairies, they do not use chlorine which leaves behind a residue of the toxin dioxin.
Straus also seeks to integrate their business with nature
in other ways. The Straus Farm is one of the first to use
their cow dung to generate methane gas. That methane is then
burned and produces almost all of their electricity. Their
methane generator eliminates large amounts of greenhouse gases
and greatly reduces the organic pollutants that are formed
as wastewater.
For more information on Straus Creamery and Dairy go to:
www.strausfamilycreamery.com
How
we make our Organic Ghee
"Making ghee is a sadhana to induce a sattvic mind."
-Maya Tiwari
As for us, we make our Ghee in 'Shukla Paksh',
on the white and waxing fortnights of the moon in a peaceful
environment. We boil our butter in stainless steel heavy pots,
over a gas flame in a beautiful and positive environment, using
the ancient 'Mahamrtunjaya' mantra to invoke and entice the 'Divine' energy of Life.
The Ghee we make changes slightly as the seasons and the
diet of the cows change. For instance, in winter, there are
many days that the cows are not able to graze in the pastures
and there is more silage in their diet. During this time, the butter and the ghee is less yellow. You can tell by the color of our ghee and by Straus butter that these cows are eating fresh grass. It is the result of beta carotene in the grass- this is whay many butters are artificailly colored. There was a memory amongst the earlier generations that yellow color in the butter meant a good diet for the cows and a high nutritional quality.
We label our Ghee
as to date. In this way, you can tell what season your ghee
was made and even what day or phase of the moon it was bottled.
We have found the making of Ghee to be a very beautiful and
peaceful experience. The beautiful sound of the mantra in the space. The sound of softly boiling butter, the
pouring of the thick liquid into bottles. The wonderful smell
Ghee has as it permeates the room. All these things go together
to bring you what we consider to be the very best Ghee in
the world.
If you want any questions answered or if you wish to speak
with us, please do not hesitate to call. We look forward to
hearing from you.
Peter Malakoff and Gilda Zucolella
Ancient Organics
Stinson Beach ,
California, 94970
415-868-9890
ayughritam@pacbell.net
www.ancientorganics.com
As ghee pervades all milk,
So does the Lord pervade the creation.
Many the talkers,
many the listeners to this theme;
But few are those who act
and churn the body
To get the all-pervading Lord.
-Kabir
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ORGANIC GHEE
Sunrise on the Ganges-Benaras
Classical Indian Dance-Mamallapuram
Rice Fields near Kanchipuram
Rice Field near Kanchipuram
Rice Fields near Kanchipuram
View of Himalayan Foothills above Rishilkesh
Straus Holstein Cow in Pasture overlooking Tomales Bay, CA.
Straus has both Holsteins and Jersey cows.
Below is a Jersey cow in pasture. Like any other mammal, the diet of the cow makes a great difference in the quality of its milk.
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