Category Archives: Healthy Fats

Dahi Raita-a Indian cooling condiment for hot curries

20th Century Foods, Diabetic Friendly Recipes, Ethnic Meals, Healthy Fats, History of American Cuisine, History of Yogurt 1 Comment

The history of yogurt, its health benefits, and the definition of its various kinds are given below; this is followed by a delightful Indian recipe, Dahi Raita, a yogurt-cooling-condiment for hot curries.

The Advent of Yogurt

In early history, with the domestication of animals, useful ways of preserving milk surfaced, which made it a surplus to people’s immediate requirements.  This was found in the making, by fermentation, of either fine or coarse curds.  These coarser curds, after straining, became the first soft, fresh cheese; the finer curds developed into what is today the yogurt of the Balkans, the taetta of Scandinavia, and the dahi of India-the subject of today’s entry.  1

In the West, we are familiar with fresh fermented milks-yogurt and its relatives soured cream and buttermilk.  These are native to a broad and climatically warm area of the Middle East and central and southwest Asia, of which India is a part-from which the ethnicity of this present series of receipts is derived.  (See: Tandori Chicken.) It is believed that this area in Asia and the Middle East includes the probable home of dairying, and where still today some people store milk in animal stomachs and skins.  2

The word yogurt is Turkish, meaning milk that has fermented into a tart, semisolid mass; it is derived from a root meaning “thick”.  It is known by various names and used in various ways, having been made for millennia from eastern Europe and North Africa across central Asia to India.  3

How Yogurt Grows

The thermophilic, or heat-loving species, lactobacilli and streptococci produce yogurt, when these rapidly and synergistically grow at temperatures up to 113 degrees F, or 45 degrees C, producing high levels of preservative lactic acid.  They can set milk into a tart, firm substance in just a few hours.  These two species may have come from the cattle themselves.  4

Health Benefits of Yogurt First Discovered in Early 20th Century

Yogurt remained an exotic curiosity in Europe until the early 1920s. At this time, Nobel Prize-winning immunologist Ilya Metchinikov (who had discovered that white blood cells fight bacterial infection) recognized the health benefits of yogurt.  He connected the longevity of certain isolated groups, within Bulgaria, Russia, France, and the United States, with their consumption of fermented milks.  He theorized that these would acidify the digestive tract and prevent pathogenic bacteria from growing.  In other words, he proposed that the lactic acid bacteria in fermented milks eliminate toxic microbes in our digestive system that otherwise shorten our lives.  This confirmed the ancient and widespread belief that yogurt and other fermented milks do more than just predigest lactose and create flavor, but rather they promote good health.  5

Yogurt is beneficial to health in numerous ways, though it is not for the lactose-intolerant and those allergic to milk.  Some of these proposed benefits are it is rich in important nutrients, such as: calcium, B vitamins, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, and vitamin D.  Likewise, it is high in protein, which benefits appetite and weight control.  6 

Varieties containing probiotics, or live bacteria, may increase digestive health by reducing bloating, diarrhea, and constipation.  These yogurts, with their probiotics and minerals-especially magnesium, selenium, and zinc-may also strengthen your immune system and therefore prevent certain sicknesses, such as viral infections and gut disorders. 7 

High-Fat Yogurt is Best for Health

It is also held that yogurt may reduce the risk of osteoporosis and heart disease. And finally, it may promote weight management due to its high fat and protein.  Note: full-fat dairy products are now regarded by some to reduce the incidence of obesity, contrary to previous popular beliefs concerning fat intake and weight gain.  8

MedicalNewsToday agrees with all the above health benefits of yogurt, and it also states it may help protect against type 2 diabetes.  9  It also state that high-fat dairy products are much healthier than low-fat dairy ones, as these latter may contribute to the risk of Parkinson’s disease (see https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/317834#Skim,-low-fat-milk-linked-to-higher-Parkinsons-risk).

Also, there is observational evidence that does not support the hypothesis that high-fat dairy products contribute to obesity or cardiometabolic risk, but rather suggests that high-fat dairy consumption within typical dietary patterns is inversely associated with obesity risk.  10

Modern Refrigerators Brought Popularity of Yogurt

By the late 1920s, factory-scale production and milder yogurts with fruit were developed.  The 1960s, however, brought broader popularity with Swiss improvements in the inclusion of flavors and fruits; there was also the French development of a stable, creamy, stirred version at this time.  11

In Consider the Fork, Bee Wilson draws the parallel between diversified, modern refrigerators (featuring lots of compartments and multi-level shelving) and this advent of yogurt growing into a multi-billion-dollar industry in the West.  This began first in the United States.  She proposes that housewives were needing something attractive, like the neat little plastic yogurt pots, to put in their new fridges.  12 

Before World War II, yogurt had zero potential commercially in the West, but rather it was a traditional food of the Middle East and India, where it was made fresh as needed and kept in a cool place.  Wilson says that refrigerators were originally devices for helping us stay safe, but from the 1950s on, especially in America, they became insatiable boxes, which themselves demanded to be fed, with all their fancy features.  13.

She goes on to point out that the wide-spread dairy dessert of homemade milk puddings, such as rice pudding and tapioca, faded away at this time, to be replaced by the ever-growing popularity of these pretty, little, commercial yogurt containers.  14

Lesson Applied

Food can be medicine for us, as we see in the case of yogurt, where it is believed that the lactic acid bacteria, found in it, eliminates the toxic microbes in our digestive system, thus promoting good health.  We, however, not only eat it for its physical health benefits, but also because it pleases the palate.

 Likewise, the word of God is our medicine.  It promises this, in Proverbs 4: 20-22, KJV, where the original Hebrew word for health actually means medicine.

“My son (daughter), attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.  Let them not depart from thine eyes; keep them in the midst of thine heart.  For they are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.”

God’s word tells us that like a medicine, the word cuts asunder between soul and spirit, destroying all corruption therein.  It changes us from the inside out, for it is our gos-pill.

All that is required of us is to attend to the word-fix our attention on it-by reading, pondering, meditating, muttering, hearing, musing it.  This fixes this powerful medicine in our hearts, which then eliminates destructive forces; these may be present perhaps due to our ignorance.  Indeed, the word is forever quieting and calming us with its perfect truths; thus, it pleases the palates of our souls. 

Enjoy this great cooling condiment for curries, dahi raita, by preparing the simple recipe below.

References:

  1. Harold McGee, On Food and Cooking (New York: Scribner, 1984, 2004), pp. 27, 28, 29.
  2. Ibid., pp. 46, 47.
  3. Ibid., pp. 47,48.
  4. Ibid., pp. 45, 47.
  5. Ibid., 47, 48.
  6. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/7-benefits-of-yogurt#TOC_TITLE_HDR_7
  7. Ibid.
  8. Ibid.
  9. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/295714
  10. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00394-012-0418-1
  11. Harold McGee, On Food and Cooking (New York: Scriber, 1984, 2004), p 48.
  12. Bea Wilson, Consider the Fork (Philadelphia: Basic Books, 2012), pp. 241-244.
  13. Ibid., p. 244.
  14. Ibid.

Dahi Raita  Yields about 3 cups.  Active prep time: 25 min/  cooking time: 20-30 min/  cooling time for potato: 30 min or overnight.

This is one of my 1980’s recipes; I don’t recall its origin.  Its best to assemble this the day of serving, as the tomatoes/cucumbers make it somewhat runny if left overnight.  (You may boil the potato a day ahead.)

1 small/med Yukon or red potato, cut in halves or thirds and boiled in salted water

1 c plain yogurt  (I like Sierra Nevada, Grass-fed, Whole Milk Yogurt, which is exceptionally thick, rich, and healthy; Greek yogurt is another option.)

1 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp salt  (Himalayan, pink, or Real Salt is critical for optimum health; an inexpensive, fine-grind, Himalayan salt is available at Costco for $4.95 for 5 lbs.)

1/8 tsp freshly ground pepper

1 cucumber, peeled, deseeded, and diced small

1 tomato, deseeded and diced small  (It’s not necessary to peel the tomato.)

  1. Measure yogurt in a bowl; mix in coriander, salt, and pepper.
  2. Cut the potato in halves or thirds. Place it in boiling water and cook it until soft, but firm-not so much that it will fall apart.  Discard the water and cool.  (May do this the day before.)
  3. When ready to serve, peel skin off potato and dice in 3/4” pieces. Add to yogurt, making sure small pieces are completely cool first. 
    DSCF1207
  4. Peel cucumber, cut in half, and scoop out seeds with a spoon. Dice in 3/4” pieces and add to the yogurt.  See above photo.
  5. Cut the tomato in half, scoop out the seeds, and chop in small pieces, by placing the side with peel flat on counter-this makes cutting tomatoes easier. 
  6. Add this to the yogurt, stirring all together; adjust seasonings (see photo below).
  7. This is a great cooling condiment for Indian food!

Balsamic Eggs w/ Ghee Recipe

21st Century Foods, Breakfast Foods, Egg Dishes, Gluten-free Entrees, Healthy Fats, Healthy Innovations, History and Preparation of Ghee Leave a comment

finished ghee

Discover here the health-giving attributes of the right kind of fats, such as grass-fed ghee in this delicious balsamic egg recipe, which is complete with the easy steps for making inexpensive ghee.

Increasingly, our mainstream culture is recognizing that dietary cholesterol is not a cause of heart disease or weight gain.  Mitochondria, the power plants in our bodies, either burn sugar or fat for energy.  A high carbohydrate diet makes the body go into a mode of burning glucose (sugar), while switching to a high-fat, moderate-protein, low-carb diet, allows the body to use fat for fuel.  This is why many people are achieving great success with the keto diet, which is high in fats.  Of key importance, however, is that one eats the right kind of fats!  1

Many vegetable oils, such as canola and soy oils (those most frequently used in restaurants and found on grocery shelves) are very unstable, oxidize quickly, and are almost always rancid; thus, they can be extremely detrimental to the nervous system and immune health.  They can be indigestible and lead to inflammation and free radical damage; inflammation is among the root causes of major diseases, such as diabetes, cancer, obesity, and arthritis, according to Dr. Don Colbert.  2

In approaching a high fat diet, to either maintain health or loose weight, it is critical that one know the kind of fats that are healthy.  There are seven recommended healthy fats-avocado, olive oil, nuts and seeds, grass-fed ghee, MCT oil, and krill oil. Among these are three that I frequently use in my recipes: ghee, avocados (and their oil), and the king of oils olive oil, though this latter should not be heated, as it becomes carcinogenic at high temperatures.  3

Ghee made from grass-fed butter is highly health-promoting.  Dr. Axe states that the saturated fat found in butter (and coconut oil) provides the body with much needed fuel, as well as helping with blood sugar stability, when eaten in reasonable amounts.  It has 400 different fatty acids and a good dose of fat-soluble vitamins as well.  It is important that the cream the butter is made from is obtained from grass-fed cows, with their diet rich in beta-carotene (the form of vitamin A found in plants.)  When eaten in moderation, butter is very beneficial.  4

Butter made into ghee takes these health attributes a step higher.  Ghee is produced by gently heating butter to evaporate the water and milk solids from the fat.  Fat makes up about 80% of the content of butter.  The milk solids contain inflammatory proteins and sugar, which are detrimental to health, but when these are removed, pure butter fat (loaded with fat-soluble nutrients) results, providing a food good for healing and detoxification.  5

Following is a simple recipe for the preparation of inexpensive ghee at home, which I have perfected over time.  Note: my saucepan for making ghee was originally not quite heavy enough; thus, I could only produce clarified butter, when I used the high quality, European, grass-fed Kerrygold butter.  My not-so-heavy saucepan, however, was quite adequate for making ghee, with the lesser-quality, Trader Joe’s, hormone-free, regular butter; this ghee, however, is much lighter in color and isn’t as health-promoting.

The premium, grass-fed, European butter is higher in fat, making it impossible, without burning, to go beyond this first stage of clarifying the butter, while using my not-so-heavy pan.  Clarifying requires cooking only until the first foam arises and subsides; then, there is the removal of the skin of dry, milk solids.  Ghee is easily produced, when cooking continues after this initial stage and, following the subsiding of the first foam, a second foam arises.  Then the milk solids that have sunk to the bottom of the pan brown, leaving a nutty-flavored medicinal substance.

After several failures with Kerrygold butter, I bought a great, heavy, All-Clad saucepan at Bed, Bath, and Beyond.  (Go to Laban Bil Bayd-2018/03/26-for more information on the differences between clarified butter and ghee.)  These great balsamic eggs, with ghee, are a steadfast part of my diet now!  Enjoy.

References:

  1. https://drcolbert.com/7-healthy-fats-to-help-you-burn-belly-flab/
  2. Ibid.
  3. Ibid.
  4. https://draxe.com/grass-fed-butter-nutrition/
  5. https://drcolbert.com/7-healthy-fats-to-help-you-burn-belly-flab/

balsamic eggs beginning to fry

Balsamic Eggs  Yields: one serving.  Total prep time: 5 min.  (or 25 minutes total, if making your own ghee.)  Note: though a thermometer may be helpful, it is not required.

1 tsp ghee  (May purchase ready-made at Trader Joe’s, or make your own inexpensively, following directions below.)

2 eggs, preferably duck eggs

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

  1. first foam

    For homemade ghee, prepare a strainer, lined with a coffee filter, and place it in a heat-proof dish; set aside.

  2. Over medium heat, shaking pan, melt 8-16 oz of high quality, unsalted butter (Kerrygold is ideal).

  3. breaking of first foam

    When melted, cook until an even layer of white whey proteins forms on top (see photo).

  4. Continue cooking until milk solids break apart, and foam subsides, temperature will be about 190 degrees (see above photo).  At this stage you have clarified butter.  Note: if foam is starting to brown deeply and quickly, your pan is not heavy enough to make ghee; remove from heat and immediately strain this clarified butter in a coffee-filter-lined strainer.

  5. second foam rising

    To proceed with ghee, cook butterfat until a second foam rises.  This will take 2-3 more minutes, and temperature will reach 250 degrees; see photo.  Watch carefully as dry casein particles, settled on bottom of pan, will brown quickly.

  6. Immediately gently strain golden-colored butterfat through a coffee filter, into a heat-proof dish (see photo below).  Transfer into an airtight container to keep out moisture.  This lasts for months, when stored in the refrigerator.

  7. straining ghee

    In an egg pan, melt 1 tsp of ghee, over medium heat.

  8. When pan is hot, add eggs and lower heat to med/low.  Pour vinegar over yolks, just as the white is starting to form on the bottom of pan; see photo at top of recipe.  Cover with a splash shield (available at Bed, Bath, and Beyond, see photo below).

  9. splash shield

    When whites are nearly cooked, flip eggs over, cooking briefly, then transfer to a bowl, for easy spooning of these delicious juices.

Laban Bil Bayd (Lebanese eggs baked in yogurt/garlic/mint sauce)

Breakfast Foods, Egg Dishes, Healthy Fats, History and Preparation of Ghee, History of Indian Cuisine, History of Mediterranean Cooking 2 Comments

laban bil bayd and tabbouleh

This last of my Middle Eastern receipts laban bil bayd calls for eggs, baked in a thickened yogurt, which is seasoned with mint and garlic cooked in ghee.  This delightful dish is commonly used as part of the mezze, or the first course of appetizers.  Great recipes follow, for both the ghee and laban bil bayd.

Butter vs Vegetable Oils

Vegetable oils are almost 100% fat, while butter is an emulsion of 80% fat, 15% water, and 5% milk solids; vegetable fats are most commonly used for sautéing, due to their high smoke points, or temperatures at which they burn.  It is misinformation that adding oil to butter raises butter’s smoke point.

Ghee a Form of Clarified Butter

The flavor of butter is important in this recipe; thus, it calls for ghee, with the smoke point of about 400 degrees F (200 C), as compared to 250 degrees F (150 C) for regular butter.

Ghee is a form of clarified butter; ghee and what we typically call clarified butter differ in that the first is heated just a little longer, browning the milk solids.  This produces a subtle nutty flavor and aroma, with great resistance to rancidity.

Clarified Butter Made in Resteraunts

The most common form of clarifying butter, the one used by most restaurants, varies from the more efficient method suggested here for home use, which is actually the preparation of ghee, rather than clarified butter.

Because such large quantities of butter are clarified in commercial kitchens, it is easiest to gently heat the butter to the boiling point of water; the water then bubbles to the surface, where the foaming milk proteins form also.  The water eventually evaporates, the bubbling stops, and the froth dehydrates, leaving a skin of dry whey protein; this skin of dry milk solids is next skimmed off the top.  Finally, the pure butterfat is ladled out, to remove it from the dry casein particles, which have sunk to the bottom of the pan.

Clarified Butter-Ghee-Made at Home

This above technique, however, brings much wasted product when preparing small quantities, because this means of  separating the fat from the top and bottom milk proteins also scoops up the butterfat.  Therefore it is best to follow this quick, traditional method for making ghee, when clarifying little amounts of a pound or less of butter at home.

This takes the above process a step further, by raising the final heat and browning these sunken whey proteins, then separating them from the pure butterfat by straining.  In this way, the resultant clear fat is completely isolated by easily pouring it through a coffee filter, or layers of cheesecloth.

History of Ghee in India

The word ghee in Sanskrit means “bright”.  In India, it was traditionally made from butter churned from soured, whole cow or buffalo milk, known as yogurt-like dahi; this preliminary souring improved both the quantity and flavor-quality found in this clarifying process.  Today, Indian industrial manufacturers usually start this procedure with cream; nevertheless, it is said that sweet cream produces flat-tasting butter, which affects the character of the ghee.

Ghee in World Cuisines

Ghee is prevalent both in South Asian and Middle Eastern cuisines.  My first encounters with it were in my early catering and teaching days during the 1980’s, when I was preparing East Indian foods, such as curries and dal (lentils).

How Best to Prepare and Use Ghee

Presently I like to make large batches of it, for storing in my refrigerator where it keeps for months.  Thus, it is readily available for frying eggs, searing meats and vegetables, making sauces-such as hollandaise-and popcorn, as well as using it as dips for lobster, crab, and artichokes.  It greatly enhances the taste of all these foods.

Note: it is especially helpful to utilize high grade butter-such as Kerry butter from Ireland-in making ghee for a hollandaise sauce or dip for shellfish, as the flavor will be better.  This is due to the higher butterfat content in European butters (82-86%), contrasted with 80-82% in that of its American counterpart.  (For more on the health qualities of fats and grass-fed ghee, see Balsamic Eggs .)

Join me in the great discovery of cooking with ghee, by first making this simple, seemingly innocuous egg dish that surprises with it powerful pleasure!

References:

Harold McGee, On Food History (New York: Scribner, 1984, 2004), pp. 36, 37.

https://www.seriouseats.com/2015/08/how-to-clarify-butter.html

https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2015/08/clarified-butter-recipe.html

https://altonbrown.com/clarified-butter-and-ghee-recipes/

finished product

Laban Bil Bayd (Lebanese eggs baked in yogurt/garlic/mint sauce)  Yields 6 servings.  Total prep time: 45-60 min (the length of time depends on if you prepare ghee with recipe)/  active prep time: 25-40 min/  baking time: 20 min.

Note: may make third of the recipe to serve two, using a 5-oz carton of plain Greek yogurt.

 

1/4 c ghee, or clarified butter  (Prepared versions are available at Trader Joe’s and Costco; may follow step 2, to quickly make your own, out of grass-fed butter-in 15 minutes.)

2 lg cloves garlic, minced

finished ghee

1/4 c fresh mint, chopped  (May substitute 2 tsp dried mint.)

2 c plain Greek yogurt  (Greek yogurt makes this recipe great; it is important that milk products are whole and organic for optimum health.)

1 lg egg white, beaten to froth

2 tsp corn starch

1 1/2 tsp salt  (Himalayan, pink, or Real Salt is critical for optimum health; an inexpensive fine grind Himalayan salt is available at Costco.)

White pepper, to taste

6 eggs

  1. foam subsides, after initial rising

    Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

  2. May use a prepared version of clarified butter (an 8-oz jar is available for $3.99 at Trader Joe’s, but this is NOT grass-fed).  Better yet, for a homemade ghee: prepare a strainer, with a coffee filter in it, and place in a heat-proof dish.  Set aside.
  3. Over medium heat, shaking pan, melt 8-16 oz of high quality, unsalted butter (grass-fed Kerrygold is important-available most reasonably at Costco).  Note: 8 oz has less wastage.
  4. When melted, cook until an even layer of white whey proteins forms on top (see photo below).
  5. Continue cooking until milk solids break apart, and foam subsides (see above photo); temperature will be about 190 degrees-it is not necessary to have a thermometer though.  At this stage you have clarified butter.  Note: if foam is starting to brown deeply and quickly, your pan is not heavy enough to make ghee; remove from heat and immediately strain this clarified butter in a coffee-filter-lined strainer.
  6. To proceed with ghee, cook butterfat until a second foam rises high in pan, and there is just a hint of golden color at edge; bubbles will have become dense and small (see photo in list of ingredients).  This will take 2-3 more minutes, and temperature will reach 250 degrees.  Watch carefully as dry casein particles, settled on bottom of pan, will brown quickly.
  7. Immediately gently strain butterfat into a heat-proof dish, through a coffee filter placed in a strainer (see photo at very bottom).  Transfer into an airtight container to keep out moisture.  This lasts for months, when stored in the refrigerator.

  8. ghee at first rising of foam

    Chop mint-if using fresh-and garlic.

  9. Measure ghee (samneh) into a small saucepan, heat on med/low, add mint and garlic, and cook until garlic is golden brown.  Stir this frequently, watching carefully so as not to burn.  Meanwhile proceed to next step.
  10. Beat egg white until frothy (see photo below); an electric mixer hastens this process.
  11. Place yogurt in a heavy saucepan, adding salt, cornstarch, and foamy egg white, to which a final beat is given (if making a smaller recipe of only two servings, be sure to use just one third of whites).  CAREFULLY STIR IN THE SAME DIRECTION, until thoroughly combined.

  12. egg whites beaten to froth

    Continuing to stir in the same direction, cook over medium heat until it starts to boil.  Lower heat and simmer gently until thick, about 3 minutes.  Greek yogurt thickens more quickly than regular yogurt; if making a smaller portion, this will thicken very fast!

  13. Pour hot yogurt in an oven-proof dish (or evenly divide into

    separated browned milk solids, along with golden butterfat

    individual oven-proof bowls).  Spread out to completely cover the bottom of dish.  Break eggs on top of this mixture, spacing them evenly if using a larger dish.  Pour flavored ghee over eggs.  Bake for 15-20 minutes, until eggs are hard (see photo of finished product at top of recipe).  Serve immediately for an incredible palate-pleasing experience!