Ashwagandha, Lavender, and Vanilla: The Dreamiest Herbal-Infused Ghee Recipe

Preparing herbal-infused ghee recipes is a wonderful way to enjoy herbs and easily incorporate them into your daily rhythm. There are several methods to craft medicinal ghee, but in this recipe, we’ll follow a simple formula: infusing dried herbal powders into hot ghee, followed by cooling and whipping the herbs and ghee together. Beware of herbal-infused ghee recipes that cook the herbs with the butter during the ghee-making process; this method burns the delicate herbs and spices. The post Ashwagandha, Lavender, and Vanilla: The Dreamiest Herbal-Infused Ghee Recipe appeared first on Chestnut School of Herbal Medicine.

Dr. Anthia

Feb 7, 2024 - 05:06

Ashwagandha, Lavender, and Vanilla: The Dreamiest Herbal-Infused Ghee Recipe

Ashwagandha, Lavender, and Vanilla: The Dreamiest Herbal-Infused Ghee Recipe

Recipe and Photography by Marion Hearth of Goddess Ghee

Ashwagandha, Lavender, and Vanilla herbal-infused ghee.

Preparing herbal-infused ghee recipes is a wonderful way to enjoy herbs and easily incorporate them into your daily rhythm.

There are several methods to craft medicinal ghee, but in this recipe, we’ll follow a simple formula: infusing dried herbal powders into hot ghee, followed by cooling and whipping the herbs and ghee together. Beware of herbal-infused ghee recipes that cook the herbs with the butter during the ghee-making process; this method burns the delicate herbs and spices.

This article features a recipe for Ashwagandha, Lavender, and Vanilla-Infused Ghee. Ashwagandha is a strengthening tonic herb and calming adaptogen that has been used in Ayurvedic medicine to fortify health and nurture a long life. Its nutty, musky flavor is complemented by lavender’s floral aroma and vanilla’s stirring warmth in this ghee.

Note that any herbal powders and ground spices can be infused into ghee—this recipe can be adapted to incorporate all kinds of herbal combinations!

For more in-depth medicinal ghee methods (including using fresh plants from your garden) or to learn how to make amazing ghee at home, check out Goddess Ghee’s Online Class: Crafting Culinary + Medicinal Ghee.

Herbal-Infused Ghee created by Goddess Ghee

Ghee infused with cacao powder is poured into jars at Goddess Ghee.

Ashwagandha, Lavender, and Vanilla Herbal-Infused Ghee Recipe

This herbal ghee is calming, nourishing, and warming to the heart and body. It’s perfect as a pre-bedtime evening tonic blended with hot milk, water, or tea. It can also be taken by the spoonful or spread on top of toast anytime your spirits need soothing. **Note that infusing herbal medicines into ghee can increase their bioavailability (absorption), so you’ll want to be aware of this when formulating a dose that is right for you. Serving size is between 1 Tsp. and 1 Tbsp. depending on need.

Course Condiment

Keyword Ashwagandha, Ghee, Lavender

Servings pint

Equipment

Small saucepan
Mason jar with lid

Ingredients

16 ounces ghee - Make it fresh or purchase from a high-quality source such as Goddess Ghee.
¼ cup ashwagandha powder (Withania somnifera)
1 tablespoon lavender powder (Lavandula spp.)
1 teaspoon vanilla bean powder (Vanilla planifolia)

Instructions

Heat the ghee in a small saucepan over a medium flame (unless you’ve just made fresh, hot ghee) until it’s hot and translucent.
Turn off the heat.
Whisk in the powdered herbs and let them steep with a lid on until the ghee comes to room temperature (around 75°F). The ghee should start to turn from clear to opaque and become thicker but still be thin enough to pour.
If the mixture cools too much (gets hard), you can put it back on a low flame until it’s warm enough to stir again.
If you’re in a hurry you can speed up the cooling process by setting the saucepan in a shallow bowl of ice water and slowly stirring the ghee until it thickens. (Be careful not to get any water in the ghee.)
Once the herb and ghee blend has cooled, use a whisk and whip the mixture until the herbal powders are suspended in the ghee. Then pour the herb-infused ghee into a clean, dry mason jar. Cover with a lid and place the jar in the fridge to continue cooling. This will help the herbs stay suspended in the ghee without separating.
When the mixture becomes solid, you may take it out of the fridge and let it come back to room temperature. You’ll want to keep the lid on so that condensation doesn’t enter the jar during the process. At this point, your herbal ghee is “cured” and will stay solid below 80°F.
Store in a cool, dark place such as the pantry or medicine cabinet.

Notes

Recipe provided by Goddess Ghee, a mama-founded & women-run small business in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains near Asheville, NC. Goddess Ghee believes in the wisdom that “food is medicine,” and they honor the ancient Ayurvedic ritual of crafting grass-fed ghee as a medicine as well as a delicious food. They are committed to making the highest quality ghee that is commercially available and offering unique herbal ghee potions. You can purchase Goddess Ghee via their online shop and follow them on Instagram for ghee inspiration, new ghee releases, and class offerings.

Meet Our Contributor:

MARION HEARTH birthed Goddess Ghee in 2015 after she asked herself, “What am I already creating that I can make more of to share with my community?”. Ghee was the obvious answer. Marion had been making ghee each moon cycle since the birth of her first baby just two years earlier, and ghee was the one staple in her kitchen that she didn’t let run dry. Marion began selling at farmers markets with a baby wrapped on her back and a toddler running around – not imagining that Goddess Ghee would one day be in kitchens and home apothecaries around the country.

Interested in becoming a contributor?

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