Once upon a time in India
We used to have a special kind of cow #Ghee #Ghrtam #ClarifiedButter.
A ghee preserved from 11 to — hold your breath — 100 years in a vessel called कुम्भघृत kumbhaghrta.
And also — now don’t hold your breath, or the consequences may be difficult to handle — a ghee matured for more than a century, called महाघृत mahaghrta.
What we know, is these had special curative uses. We don’t know, is how in the world they imagined it. What we can sense, is the times. When even a pot of ghee is a heirloom. You make it so your future can be nourished.
Anyone who considers only us modern folks defining #progress, needs to just take a tiny little peek at the ancients to know our own vision’s depth and value — or the lack of it — in the long lethargic flow of time things and values.
Pūtigandha (पूतिगन्ध): fetid odour, stench, in this case from old ghee.
Our ancients offer a tip for that, incidentally corroborated by my own grandmother who this tip reached, woman to woman …
Try adding a little sour curd, or sour juice of citrus in ghee and then boil it. This should make it free from bad smell.
I haven’t tried it so far. But do try. Take a little of the smelly ghee. Test for curd sourness, try different quantities in it etc etc. Experiment, like in a lab. And we’ll know the results ourselves.
That’s how ancients across the cultures discovered what is edible, what is not. Experience and experimentation.
PS: Oh yes, this is for homemade ghee, not Amul or Nova or any other which has expiry date. I’d suggest do not try with any of that. Also I presume this for organic milk too. So, coming to our rather progressive times, the results may vary slightly!
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|| Discussion threads here, some around an idea on creating inter-generational gifts of preserved ghee: https://tinyurl.com/y3wptvks ||