Remember those days, when our grannies used to suggest eating lots of ghee. Every dish made at home had loads of ghee into it. The sweet dishes were made at home with desi cow ghee and just the thought of those mouth-watering ghee loaded ladoos still makes us nostalgic.
The pregnant ladies were given a lot of ghee in a belief that the delivery would be easy and smooth. Today, doctors don’t agree to this and just grin on taking ghee’s name.
Whatever our grandmothers’ reasons were but they were never wrong. Consuming ghee has a lot of health benefits which we do not want to believe. Have you ever encountered chappy skin or lips? Apply a little desi ghee next time and see the magic. Your branded expensive lip balms can never heal your chappy or cracked lips the way ghee does.
Besides, ghee is any day better than your refined oils, olive oils, groundnut oils and other varieties. Recently, a lot of nutritionists and dieticians have started prescribing ghee instead of any other oil because of their magical benefits.
Ghee is rich in the oil-soluble vitamins A and E. Ghee (unlike other oils) is rich in butyric acid, a short chain fatty acid. A lot of research work has shown that production of butyric acid supports the production of killer T cells in the gut thus giving a strong immune system.
Many scientists are also using oral butyrate supplements and butyrate enemas to treat inflammatory bowel diseases such as Crohn’s and ulcerative colitis. Many ayurvedic physicians used ghee for centuries to decrease inflammation.
Ghee was once thought to be unhealthy because it is saturated, but it has now been revealed by researchers the true facts about ghee. Ghee is believed to be one of the seven healthy fats you need in your kitchen.
But gone are those days, when ghee was real and pure. Like a majority of the expensive food items, the adulteration of ghee is also very high and almost every store sells adulterated ghee.
As ghee is expensive in comparison to vegetable oils, it is very often adulterated with the same, coal tar, rancid old ghee, animal fats etc.
We tell you simple tests that you can perform at home and know if the ghee at your home is pure or adulterated.
Test – 1
Put a spoon of ghee on your palm, if it starts melting itself, then it is pure. Normally, pure ghee melts at body temperature.
Test – 2
Take a spoon of ghee and heat it. If it melts quickly and appears dark brownish colour, it is pure ghee. Within a few seconds, the ghee will be melted. If it takes a longer time to melt and appear light yellow in colour, it is impure.
Test – 3
Ghee can be tested through a little-complicated method by using commonly available chemicals.
Take a small amount of pure Desi ghee in a test tube, heat it to melt and add an equal amount of concentrated Hydrochloric acid (HCl) and a pinch of sugar.
Shake the tube hard and wait for five minutes. If crimson colour appears in the lower acid layer, it is clear that hydrogenated oils/ Vanaspati ghee has been mixed as an adulterant. No colour change means no adulteration.
Performing these simple tests at home can help you out to easily identify if the ghee you purchased is real or adulterated.