Not all ghee is equal. And it starts with the cow. Gir cows are an indigenous Indian breed, one of the oldest in the world, native to the Gir forest of Gujarat. They produce A2 milk — milk containing A2 beta-casein protein, the protein structure that Indian cattle have carried for thousands of years. The majority of commercial dairy in India today comes from cross-bred cattle breeds with European genetics that produce A1 beta-casein. This is what is in most commercial milk, most commercial curd, and most commercial ghee sold in India. Our Gir cows live on farms in Gujarat. They graze on natural pasture. Their calves feed first — we follow the traditional protocol that restricts milking for the first 15 days after calving, as Hindu dairy tradition has always required. These are not cows under industrial production pressure. They are the real thing.

Day 1 — The Curd
Fresh A2 milk is collected in the morning and cooled naturally. A live starter culture is added. The milk is poured into earthen pots — clay vessels that breathe, that maintain temperature naturally — and left overnight to set into curd. The earthen pot is not incidental. The clay is part of the process.

Day 2 — The Bilona Churning
The set curd is churned bi-directionally using a wooden Bilona, a traditional wooden churner. Bi-directional means the rope is pulled alternately in both directions — the churner spins clockwise, then anticlockwise, in a rhythm that creates a gentler, more thorough fat separation than any mechanical process. Butter forms and floats to the surface. It is collected by hand.

Day 3 — The Wood Fire
The collected butter is placed in a copper or stainless steel vessel over a natural wood fire. As it heats slowly, the moisture evaporates, the milk solids separate and settle, and the pure clarified fat is left. This is ghee. 32 litres of A2 milk. 3 days. 1 litre.