What is the real colour of desi ghee and how to check its purity

Ghee also called clarified butter is an irreplaceable item of our Indian kitchens. From cooking meals in ghee to making a plethora of desserts with it, ghee has proved its supremacy over other oil variants. Ghee is considered to be a healthy fat and offers a unique flavour and aroma to the dish. Read on to know the colour of pure desi ghee and how you can check its purity.

The real colour of pure desi ghee is yellowish or golden. The granular part of ghee that settles down at the bottom is whiter than the liquid golden part of ghee that floats at the top. The ghee bought from the market has added fragrance and preservatives to keep it fresh for a long time. With a large number of brands indulging in adulteration, it becomes very difficult to check the purity of ghee by merely looking at its colour.

Adulteration of food items is a big nuisance in India. Brands, while trying to meet the customer demand resort to such malpractices and put the consumer’s health at stake. In order to increase the quantity of ghee, it is often mixed with coconut oil, almond oil and hydrogenated oils like vanaspati. If you are a regular consumer of ghee, are you sure whether it is pure or not? Here are some easy ways to check the purity of ghee at home.

The easiest method to check the purity is by melting it in a pan. Put a pan on medium heat and let it heat for a while, now add a teaspoon of ghee to it. If the ghee melts immediately and turns dark brownish in colour, then it is pure ghee. If it takes time to melt and turns into light yellow in colour, then it is adulterated.

This method checks whether the desi ghee has been adulterated with coconut oil or not. Just add some ghee to a glass bowl and melt it using the double-boiler method. Now put the mixture in a jar and keep it in the fridge for some time. After a while, if the coconut oil and ghee solidify in separate layers, then the ghee is adulterated with coconut oil. Otherwise, the ghee is pure.

Another method to check the purity is by doing a palm test. Add a spoon of ghee to your palm and wait for some time for it to melt. If the ghee starts melting, then it is pure, if it stays intact, then it has been adulterated.

The last method checks adulteration by using some chemicals. Make sure you are equipped with safety gear before using such chemicals.

Add a tablespoon of ghee to a test tube and heat it up. Now add an equal amount of concentrated HCl with a pinch of sugar. Shake the test tube to mix the ingredients. If some pink or red colour granules appear in the lower layers, this means that the ghee is adulterated with rancid ghee like vanaspati ghee.