ghee

ghee
/gee/, n.
a kind of liquid butter, used esp. in the cooking of India, made from the milk of cows or buffaloes and clarified by boiling.
[1655-65; < Hindi ghi]

* * *

also spelled  ghi , Hindi  ghī , Sanskrit  ghrṭa 

      clarified butter, a staple food on the Indian (India) subcontinent. As a cooking oil, ghee is the most widely used food in India, apart from wheat and rice.

      Ghee is produced as follows. Butter made from cow's milk is melted over a slow fire and then heated slowly until the separated water boils off. The vessel holding the butter is then allowed to cool; semifluid, clear butterfat, which makes the finest ghee, rises to the top of the melted butter and may be poured off, leaving the curd (precipitated protein) at the bottom of the vessel. The curd, which still contains 50 percent or more butterfat, may be reworked with the addition of peanut oil or buffalo milk fat to make inferior grades of ghee.

      A significant portion of Indian ghee is made from buffalo butter, but only ghee made from cow's butter has any religious or medical significance among Hindus. Early Sanskrit writings attributed many medicinal qualities to ghee, such as improving the voice and sight and increasing longevity. Ghee is used in almost every one of the numerous religious ceremonies that Hindus observe at different points in their lives, including birth, initiation into manhood, wedding sacrifices, and gift-giving at death. Images of the gods are washed in ghee, and it is frequently used to light holy lamps or is thrown upon an altar fire in sacrifice. See also butterfat.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Ghee — is a class of clarified butter that originated in South Asia and is commonly used in South Asian (Indian, Bangladeshi, Nepali and Pakistani) cuisine. The word ghee comes from Sanskrit: घृत (ghṛta, IPA: [ɡʱrit̪ə] sprinkled ) and has several… …   Wikipedia

  • Ghee — (g[=e]), n. [Hind. gh[=i] clarified butter, Skr. gh[.r]ta.] Butter clarified by boiling, and thus converted into a kind of oil. [India] Malcom. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • ghee — ● ghee nom masculin (anglais ghee, du sanskrit ghī) En Inde, matière grasse constituée de beurre clarifié …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Ghee — [gi:] das; <aus gleichbed. engl. ghee zu Hindi ghi, dies aus altind. ghṛtá »gereinigte Butter«> in Indien zum Kochen verwendetes, aus Büffel u. Kuhmilch hergestelltes butterschmalzähnliches Fett …   Das große Fremdwörterbuch

  • Ghee — Ghee, in Indien u. Arabien so v.w. Butter …   Pierer's Universal-Lexikon

  • Ghee — (engl. spr. gih), s. Bassiafette …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • ghee — [gi:] n [U] melted butter made from the milk of a cow or ↑buffalo, used in Indian cooking …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • ghee — [ gi ] noun uncount butter used in Indian cooking …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • ghee —    (ghee) [Hindi] In India, a type of clarified butter made from buffalo’s milk or cow’s milk, used in cooking …   Dictionary of foreign words and phrases

  • ghee — ► NOUN ▪ clarified butter used in Indian cooking. ORIGIN from Sanskrit, sprinkled …   English terms dictionary

  • ghee — [gē] n. [Hindi ghī] in India, the liquid butter remaining when butter from cow s milk or buffalo milk is melted, boiled, and strained …   English World dictionary

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”