The Bilona Method, and Why It Takes 30 Litres
Ghee can be made from cream in twenty minutes. The bilona way takes a day and a half. Here is what the difference buys.
Asmakam Gram·· 2 min read
Most commercial ghee is made by separating cream from milk and clarifying it. It is fast and it yields well.
The bilona method does something different. Whole milk is first set into curd overnight. The curd is then hand-churned to draw out makkhan, and only that butter is simmered into ghee.
Why bother
Culturing the milk first changes the fat profile and the aroma. The grainy texture of bilona ghee comes from how the fat crystallises after this slower route.
The arithmetic
Roughly 30 litres of milk yields one litre of ghee. That ratio, more than anything else, explains the price.
