Ghee vs oil, and the butter and ghee difference: which to cook with

Butter and ghee start as the same thing, the fat of milk. Butter is that fat churned out of cream or curd, with water and milk solids still held in it. Ghee is what is left when butter is cooked until both are gone. Everything else follows from that.

How each is made

Butter is churned: from cream in a dairy, or from curd in the bilona method, where the butter that gathers on the buttermilk is lifted out. To make ghee, that butter is simmered. The water boils away, the milk solids sink and turn light brown, and the clear golden fat is strained.

Clarified butter vs ghee

Ghee is a clarified butter, and the sources we cite use the two names together. In Western kitchens clarified butter is usually taken off the heat as soon as the fat runs clear; ghee is cooked a little longer, until the solids brown, which deepens its colour and aroma.

Lactose and casein

Lactose and casein sit in the milk solids, so most of both leave with them; the printed entry for ghee shows 0 g protein and 0 g carbohydrate per 100 g. Small amounts may stay behind, so a person with a milk allergy should ask a doctor before eating ghee.

Shelf life

Butter holds water and milk solids, so it keeps best in the fridge. Ghee has almost none of either, so it keeps far longer than butter in a clean, dry, airtight jar on the shelf.

On the heat

The milk solids in butter scorch in a hot pan, which is why butter burns in a tadka. Ghee has had them removed, so it stands up to tadka, paratha and shallow-frying heat. None of the sources we cite prints a smoke-point temperature for either, so we describe the behaviour in words.

• Calories: no real difference. Ghee is 900 kcal per 100 g and groundnut or mustard oil 884 kcal, which makes a level 5 g teaspoon 45 kcal of ghee or 44 kcal of oil.
• Type of fat: this is the real difference. Most of the fat in ghee is saturated, while WHO's advice is to swap saturated fat for polyunsaturated fat, or for monounsaturated fat of plant origin.
• Use: cook the bulk of the meal in a plant oil and keep ghee as the measured spoon for flavour, on roti, in tadka and in sweets.

So the answer to "ghee or oil, which is better" depends on the job: oil as the everyday cooking fat, ghee for taste.

Per 100 g, all three are fat and little else. The USDA FoodData Central entries show 900 kcal for ghee and 884 kcal for both groundnut and mustard oil, 100 g of fat in each, and 0 g carbohydrate and 0 g fibre. IFCT 2017 carries these three fats in its fatty-acid tables alone, which is why the table below is built from USDA.

Saturated vs unsaturated. The numbers look alike; the fats are not. India's dietary guidelines (ICMR-NIN) place butter and ghee among the animal foods that supply saturated fat and cholesterol, with some of the two unsaturated kinds, and note that plant foods carry no cholesterol. For mustard oil, a lipidology review from 2022 reports little saturated fat; for groundnut (peanut) oil, a 2014 review speaks of a well-balanced fatty acid profile. We print no grams of saturated fat, because the reference entries do not.

What the guidelines say. WHO (2023) wants saturated fat brought down to 10% of the energy eaten in a day, for adults and children alike, with polyunsaturated fat or plant-source monounsaturated fat taking its place. The Indian guidelines ask for oils and fats in moderation, and single out ghee and butter as fats to limit to 1 to 2 teaspoons a day, or to avoid if possible.

What a trial found. In a 2022 crossover trial, thirty healthy adults included ghee or olive oil in their diet for 4 weeks each. On the ghee diet, fasting apolipoprotein B and non-HDL cholesterol came out higher, while LDL cholesterol showed no significant difference. Olive oil is neither groundnut nor mustard oil, so read this as a test of a saturated fat against an unsaturated one. More under is ghee good for cholesterol and 1 spoon ghee calories.

A note on mustard oil. That 2022 lipidology review explains why regulators differ on it: a large share of the fat in mustard oil is erucic acid, and countries have set different rules for that. The details are under mustard oil vs sunflower oil.

Per 100 g raw, edible portion. Composition: USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy), FDC ID 171314, NDB 1323; USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy), FDC ID 171410, NDB 4042; USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy), FDC ID 172337, NDB 4583. — means not reported. These are average values for the food; the label on a pack gives the values for that product.

Taste settles most of these choices before nutrition does.

• Tadka: ghee for dal, khichdi and kadhi, where the aroma of cumin in ghee is the dish, as in dal tadka. Mustard oil for the dishes of the east and north that want its sharpness.
• Everyday sabzi: groundnut oil, which is mild and lets the vegetables and spices lead. A teaspoon of ghee at the end gives the flavour without making ghee the cooking fat.
• Deep-frying: oil. Frying takes a lot of fat, and doing it in groundnut or mustard oil rather than ghee keeps the saturated fat of the meal down. The ICMR-NIN guidelines add that oil used once for frying may be filtered and used in a curry, but should not be used for frying again.
• Pickles and fish: mustard oil, for its pungency.
• Roti, paratha and rice: ghee, as a thin smear or half a teaspoon.
• Sweets: ghee. Halwa and laddu depend on its aroma and on the way it sets; see moong dal halwa, besan ke laddu and ragi laddu. They take ghee by the ladle, so they are for occasions.

Mixing is fine: start a sabzi in oil and finish it with a little ghee.

Spoon for spoon, ghee costs more than cooking oil. Milk has to be turned into butter and the butter cooked down before there is any ghee, while an oil is pressed straight from the seed. Bilona ghee, hand-churned from curd, sits at the upper end. Among oils, cold-pressed ones usually cost more than refined ones; they are pressed mechanically, without heat.

Where each fits:

• The everyday cooking fat: a plant oil, bought in the size the kitchen uses up in a month or two.
• The flavour fat: ghee, bought in a small jar and used by the teaspoon, so that a little goes a long way.
• Shelf life: in a dry jar with a tight lid, ghee keeps well without a fridge. Oils keep well too when the bottle is closed tight and stored away from light and the heat of the stove. Butter needs the fridge.

Used this way, the higher cost of ghee matters less, because the quantity is small.

• You cook for a family every day: one plant oil for cooking and a jar of ghee for finishing. How oils are made is compared under cold pressed oil vs refined oil.
• You want a mild oil for sabzi and frying: groundnut oil; see cold-pressed groundnut oil.
• You cook pickles, fish or saag: mustard oil; how it compares with another common oil is under mustard oil vs sunflower oil.
• You have high cholesterol, diabetes or heart disease: keep ghee and butter to the amount your doctor sets, and cook the rest in an oil such as groundnut or mustard.
• You avoid lactose: ghee has had most of the milk solids removed and butter has not, but traces can remain.
• You want ghee for its taste: the A2 cow ghee guide explains bilona ghee, and cow ghee against buffalo ghee is a separate comparison.

Can we use ghee instead of butter?

Yes, in most cooking. Ghee is butter with the water and milk solids removed, so use a little less than the butter a recipe asks for and expect a nuttier taste. It suits tadka, frying and sweets, where butter would scorch. In baking that relies on the water in butter, the result will differ.

Is ghee better than oil?

For flavour, yes; as the everyday cooking fat, no. Saturated fat makes up most of ghee, and the WHO guideline favours unsaturated fat in its place. Energy is almost the same: a level 5 g teaspoon is 45 kcal of ghee or 44 kcal of oil. Cook in oil and finish with ghee.

Is ghee bad for health?

Not in small amounts, as part of a balanced diet. Ghee is a traditional cooking fat, but it is 900 kcal per 100 g and mostly saturated fat, so the quantity decides. The ICMR-NIN guidelines advise keeping ghee or butter to a teaspoon or two in a day, or leaving it out where possible. Anyone with high cholesterol or heart disease should ask a doctor.

What is the difference between clarified butter and ghee?

Both are butter with the water and milk solids taken out, and the sources we cite use the two names together. In Western kitchens clarified butter is usually taken off the heat once the fat is clear. Ghee is cooked a little longer, until the solids brown, so it is deeper in colour and nuttier.

Does ghee have lactose?

Very little. Lactose sits in the milk solids, which are strained out when butter is cooked into ghee; the reference entry for ghee shows 0 g carbohydrate per 100 g. A little may be left behind, so a person with a diagnosed milk allergy or severe intolerance should check with a doctor before using it.

Can I mix ghee and oil for cooking?

Yes. Cooking in groundnut or mustard oil and finishing with half a teaspoon of ghee gives the aroma of ghee while keeping the saturated fat of the dish low. Add the ghee at the end or in the tadka, where it can be tasted, and count both inside the day's cooking fat.