Probably overthinking it

[Marci0393]

I just found Odell's Chef's Clarified Butter at Whole Foods and I love it. It's creamy and spreadibe and melts easily and I like the flavor. It tastes more like real butter. I was using Purity Farms Organic Ghee, but it's hard as a rock and the flavor isn't as good. The problem is I didn't notice at first that the Odell's is not organic. The only ingredient is fresh pasturized cream, but is says "100% natural" not organic. Also, It's so much more like regular butter that I'm not sure I trust that it's totally lactose and Casein free.

Should I switch back to the PF Ghee? Is there another organic brand that isn't so hard? I think I've been probably around 90% organic since I started my W30 (I'm on day 10). I have bought regular avocados and bananas when the organic ones weren't ripe. So should I worry that much about the butter? I have only used it on vegetables a few times so far, but I think I would like to use it more.

I guess I'm just wondering WWW30D (what would the other whole 30'rs do?)

[Renee]

Let's see... Both clarified butter and ghee are free of dairy. The difference is that when you make clarified butter, you heat the butter until the milk solids raise to the surface. To make ghee, the milk solids come to the surface, but you continue heating until they brown and sink. The taste is slightly different and clarified butter will look and taste more like regular butter, but it doesn't have any dairy.

As for the "100% natural" but not organic... I've been there before and I don't think it affected my results. It's just that non-organic clarified butter won't have the benefits from organic, grass-fed clarified butter. So you don't need to restart or add days to your Whole30, but instead consider making your own clarified butter from grass-fed source. Info here: http://balancedbites...utter-ghee.html

[Susan W]

Hmmm...good question. I wonder how "clarified" it is. It's super easy to make your own either on the stovetop or in the oven. Mine is very soft. You know there's no need to refrigerate it right?

[Tom Denham]

I recently switched to the Pure Indian Foods brand of ghee and like the flavor better than the Purity Farms ghee. I keep my ghee on the counter and it is soft and easy to scoop what I want.

Organic is probably better when it comes to ghee. I like to buy organic generally to support organic farmers, but anything you peel is not critical when it comes to organic. It is only when you eat the peel that organic is critical.

[Robin Strathdee]

Organic is probably better when it comes to ghee. I like to buy organic generally to support organic farmers, but anything you peel is not critical when it comes to organic. It is only when you eat the peel that organic is critical.

And organic is NOT required for any part of the Whole30 program

[Sharon Simpson Thumann]

And organic is NOT required for any part of the Whole30 program

I had to do some serious rethinking and prioritizing when it came to organic food. I was going broke...FAST! It doesn't help that I live in a city that's expensive to begin with, but I make do. I live for sales!

[Marci0393]

All good advice and thanks for the explanation of the difference between ghee and CB. I thought they might be the same thing because when you Google “clarified butter†they give you results for ghee. Geez Google, get you s**t straight!

I know it's not as good as grass fed organic, but I wasn't contemplating re-starting my W30, just whether or not I should keep using it. I think I'll probably keep using it. I am not too keen on adding clarified butter to my list of homemade products as it is getting quite extensive and I have a demanding job and 2 kids. I just want this one thing to still be a convenience food!

[praxisproject]

Newer organic farms often need to wait (money or time) for certification, you may find the farm is organic, but uncertified (this can also save you some money, if you trust that they really are organic).

I've found a few "grass fed" products which are really organic, but waiting on certification (or not bothering, due to cost and sufficient customers already).

[mochuisle]

I listened to people raving about ghee on the boards, so I bought a jar of Pure Indian Foods ghee at Whole Foods. I didn't get it - I think it smells funny and taste funny, and I rarely used it. For this W45, I made my own ghee using this recipe:

http://www.grassfedgirl.com/how-to-make-ghee-in-your-crock-pot/

I strained it 3-4 times to make sure I got all of the milk solids out, and it is fabulous!! It takes next to no time and effort, especially with the crock pot, and I found the quality to be much better, too.

[praxisproject]

Ghee can go off, if it smells weird or tastes weird, I'd chuck it. Compared to butter though it's much less sweet and I don't like it uncooked.

I pop it in the fridge on really hot days.

[Michaela Elmore Cogswell]

yeah, ghee/clarified butter isn't as tasty as the whole product. It always make me feel like I'm missing lobster when I taste it, since drawn butter is usually clarified butter.

I tend not to fuss over mine. I melt it and then strain off the milk solids that have risen to the top. It's very easy to see and skim off if a bit sneaks through the cheesecloth (mostly because I usually use too small a piece of cheesecloth). It doesn't have the stronger nuttier flavor that ghee has and I can do it in about 5-10 min while I'm cooking dinner.