Ghees

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Clarified butter used in South Asian cooking; a form of butterfat purified by simmering and straining to remove milk solids and water; a cooking fat known for its aromatic and rich taste
2. A type of butter with the milk solids removed by heating and skimming; commonly used in traditional Indian cuisine for frying and flavoring; prized for its nutty aroma and high smoke point
3. Clarified butter that has been cooked to separate the milk remnants and moisture; a staple ingredient in many Indian dishes providing a rich, buttery flavor and aroma; utilized for sautéing and enhancing flavor in various recipes

Etymology: "Ghees" is simply the plural of "ghee," so it follows the same history: the English noun was borrowed from Hindustani, the everyday language of northern India and Pakistan, where the word appears as "ghī" in both the Urdu and Hindi scripts. Its first recorded use in English dates to the late 17th century, when European travellers and traders in South Asia were encountering the fat for the first time. The Hindustani word is traditionally traced back to Sanskrit "ghṛta," which means "sprinkled" and reflects the ancient practice of pouring the clarified fat as an offering. The connection is a traditional explanation rather than something fully settled, so it is best read as a plausible ancestry rather than a certainty. The English plural "ghees" is much rarer than "ghee," which is itself a mass noun, so the plural appears mainly when people speak of several varieties or batches.

Synonyms: clarified butter, butterfat