Milk and Milk Products Technology

PREPARATION OF GHEE

Ghee is defined as clarified butter fat with a strong characteristic flavour prepared by heating makkhan, in an open pan, to about 110-120^oC till all the moisture is evaporated and the characteristic flavour develops. It can be compared to butter oil. Butter oil is the western counterpart of ghee.

• Origin: Ghee originated in India much before recorded history and the name originates from the sanskrit word meaning “bright”. The Vedas contain numerous references to ghee.
• Method of Preparation: More than 90 percent of ghee is produced by the traditional method from desi butter or makkhan and then converting it into ghee. Makkhan, which is produced by churning the curd, is heated in a metallic vessel and stirred over a low fire to evaporate the moisture. When practically all the moisture is removed, further heating is stopped and the vessel is removed from the fire. After the residue has settled down on cooling, the clear fat is decanted into suitable containers a ghee. The composition ghee is

	Cow	Buffalo
Milk fat (%)	99-99.5	99-99.5
Moisture (%)	Not more than 0.5	Not more than 0.5
Unsaponifiable Matter: Carotene (mg/g) Vitamin A (IU/g) Tocopherol (mg/g) Free fatty acid (%oleic)	3.2-7.4 19-34 26-48 max. 2.8 agmark*	- 17-38 18-37 max. 2.8 agmark

*Agricultural produce (grading and marketing) act 1937

Agmark specificatios /standards for ghee

Tests	All India	Regional
		Winter	Summer
Baudouin		Negative	Negative
Phytosterol acetate		Negative	Negative
B.R.reading (40 c)	40.0-43.0	41.5-44.0	42.5 - 45
R.M.Value	28.0	not less than 23.0	Not less than 21.0
P. Value	1.0-2.0	0.5-1.2	0.5-1.0
Moisture (%)		not more than 0.3
FFA (% oleic)
a)Special-grade Agmark Red label		not more than 1.4
b)General-Grade Agmark Green label		not more than 2.5

Flow Chart

Milk

Butylated hydroxy anisole (BHA) as preservative cab be added at a rate of 0.02% for ghee and butter

Percentage of ghee residue = Weight of ghee residue x 100 / Weight of butter

Percentage of ghee obtained = Weight of ghee x 100 /Weight of fat in butter

Weight of fat in butter = 80 x weight of butter

Judging of ghee

• Colour : Though it is influenced by the method of production, the colour of ghee from cow milk is deep yellow, while ghee from buffalo milk is white with a characteristic yellowish or greenish tinge. When mixed, colour varies accordingly. Also the state of ghee as liquid or solid influences the colour.
• Flavour: (smell and taste). It is an important characteristic small quantity of ghee is rubbed over the back of palm and smelled by inhaling. A well-prepared sample of ghee has a pleasant, cooked and rich flavour. The taste is usually sweet and characteristic of milk fat, although a slight acidic flavour is preferred.
• Texture: (grain and consistency). Indian buyers relay on granulation for quality and purity. Granulation of ghee is partly due to glycerides of high melting saturated fatty acids (hard fat - palmitic and stearic etc.,) and thus buffalo ghee crystallizes more effectively than cow ghee. The desi method produces large crystals in ghee compared to direct-cream method. Heating ghee to 60-100^oC and rapid cooling yields small grains in ghee. However if the ghee is kept at 1^oC above the melting point of ghee (cow ghee –29^oC: buffalo ghee – 31^oC) a large number of big graining results. Cold storage of ghee should be avoided, since it leads to loss of granularity and the development of waxy consistency in the stored product.
• Packaging: Non-toxic, non-tainting material with easy availability, economical, resistance to rough handling, suited for printing and capacity to hold desirable volume are preferred.

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