On 8/14/2016 1:54 AM, W wrote:
> I make my own Indian Ghee from grassfed butter, using these instructions:
> http://thehealthyfoodie.com/homemade-ghee/
>
> I have done this maybe 15 times, always successfully, and I end up with a
> golden honey color. Today I tried a new local butter, and I ran into
> disaster and need to try to understand what happened.
>
> Normally what happens is in the last five minutes, the butter starts to give
> off a burning smell and the milk solids sink to the bottom of the pan. You
> pour this over a good filter and what gets through is a pure fat without the
> dairy proteins (purified butter).
>
> Today, the ghee turned black, almost like a cup of coffee. Normally what I
> see happen is that the milk solids burn off and separate from the ghee.
> This happened this time, but in addition it looks like the ghee itself has
> been burned, maybe ruined. I am typically cooking the ghee at under
> boiling temperatures for water, so I don't see how this is even possible.
> Purified butter has a smoke point of 450 degrees and I am not cooking at
> anywhere close to that temperature.
>
> Half of me is wondering if the butter still has dairy solids bound into it
> and needs to be cooked even longer to burn these off. The other half of me
> thinks maybe the butter I am using (Strauss Family Creamery) has some
> characteristic that makes it difficult to use for ghee:
> http://strausfamilycreamery.com/products/organic-butter
> and I have ruined the batch.
>
> I don't understand how ghee could end up black and looking and smelling
> burned. Does anyone have a theory about what went wrong here, and is there
> anything that can be done at this point?
>


How does it taste?

You might take a small amount and cook it more and see what happens. I
can't imagine it will clear up, though.

Or maybe use a flocculating agent and see what happens?