Open Access

Marcus Henry French, H. J. Lowe

• In hot countries milk and butter cannot be stored for any length of time. Also, in most of the dry, hot regions of the world, the yield of milk fluctuates considerably "with the season of the year. The inhabitants of such semi-arid regions were forced to evolve a method of storing dairy products, prepared during the rainy period, for use during the drought period when no surplus milk can be obtained. Such a process was developed in India and has since spread to other sub-tropical countries. The original Hindustani name for this product was "ghi," (sa,mli in Kiswahili), and this term written as "ghee" has been retained by most producing and marketing countries. The principle underlying the production of ghee is the preparation, in a solid form, of milk fat free from water, proteins, and salts, i.e. clarified butter as it is known in western civilization. The methods in vogue for producing this article vary greatly, from the crude native methods to the refined one of the European chef who prepares his clarified butter from high quality fresh butter. The milk of any animal species may be used in the preparation of clarified butter or ghee, but in practice it is made chiefly from the milk of cows and buffaloes, though occasionally it is also derived from sheep and goat milk. ...