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REFRIGERATION

Food storage

How to store ghee

Ghee is clarified butter with nearly all water and milk solids removed, so bacteria have little to work with. Sealed ghee keeps well at cool ambient temperature, out of sunlight. Its real enemies are moisture, air, light and heat, which slowly oxidise the fat and make it rancid. Refrigeration is not essential for sealed packs, but chilling opened tins or bulk stock in very hot kitchens can slow rancidity. The most common problem in commercial kitchens is not temperature at all, but water or food particles getting into the container.

Do

  • Store sealed tins and jars in a cool, dark, dry storeroom, off the floor and away from ovens, tandoors and windows.
  • Decant a small working quantity for the line and keep the main tin closed. Every opening adds air and moisture.
  • Always use a clean, completely dry ladle or spoon. A drop of water or a crumb of food in ghee can lead to mould or souring.
  • If your storeroom regularly runs above about 30 °C, keeping opened bulk ghee in a fridge or cool room slows rancidity. It will set hard; scoop or warm only what you need.
  • Rotate stock by date, and smell-check opened ghee. Rancid ghee has a sharp, paint-like odour.
  • Keep ghee covered to avoid odour pick-up and dust.

Avoid

  • Do not store ghee next to the tandoor or above the cooking range.
  • Do not pour used or strained ghee back into fresh stock.
  • Do not use wet or food-stained utensils to scoop ghee.
  • Do not keep ghee in clear containers under direct sunlight.

In Indian conditions

Indian summers push many storerooms to 35 °C or more, especially in top-floor or tin-roofed kitchens. Ghee will melt fully at those temperatures, which is not a safety problem by itself, but heat speeds up rancidity. If you buy 15-litre tins, decant into smaller clean steel containers so the main tin is opened less often. Sweet shops and caterers who use large volumes should keep tins on racks off damp floors during the monsoon, as rust on tin bases can contaminate the product. Ghee does not need a freezer, so do not use scarce cold storage for sealed ghee if fresh dairy needs the space.

General good practice for commercial kitchens and shops. Where your FSSAI licence conditions or food-safety plan set stricter limits, follow those.