I tried to make ghee a month or so ago – you heat butter until the water boils off and the milk solids fall to the bottom of the pan. (I did it wrong, I’m sure.) You are left with the pure fat of the butter, which is apparently good for cooking since it has a high smoke point. (Meaning- it doesn’t burn quickly. Remember that point.)
It can also be left out at room temperature without going bad, which means that it’s been sitting, unused, on my counter for a month or so. I’ll never get around to using it, and I didn’t want to just throw it out, so I decided to set it on fire.
Every good pyromaniac has a set of wicks lying around, so I snipped off some, dipped it in a little microwave-melted ghee, then poked a hole in the jar to put the wick in.
Turns out that was unnecessary. Ghee has the consistency of Crisco, so I pushed in my wick and found out it was too long. You know what’s not real smart? Cutting a wick with a paring knife while your fingers are all buttery. (I’m ok, but it was close.)
Ok – wick shortened, time to light! I picked a long match so I could take a photo. You know what else is not real smart? Taking a photo when your fingers are all buttery.
Hey, you know what else isn’t smart? Making a candle out of ghee and trying to light it with a match. It has a high smoke point. It resists catching on fire. I had to lay two matches down on the wick to get it going.
Once going, though, it was beautiful.
Until the wick fell over and it died.
I’m done, unless I want to go all pioneer and wrap some cloth around a metal button and use that for a wick. Oh, fire – I love you so.