Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1886-11-16
THE HIND00'S-" "GHEE.'~
AN ARTICLE OF IMPORTANCE IN
MANY PARTS OF INDIA

on E.rth-Its Offering t" the Gods
Expistory Rites.
What is ghee, How is It used by the
natives Of India And why's it, adultpra-
tion by cows or pigs fat s0 obnoxious 10
them, Clear answers To these questions
will bring home TO Englishmen the cause
OF the present agitation about ghee in
India. Ghee is prepared by boiling fresh
drawn milk in earthen pots for an hour
or more, and then adding. after il has
cooled, little Curdled milk. The cur
died mass is then churued for half an
hour, some hot water is added, and the
Churning continued for half an hour
longer, when the butter forms. This
butter is then boiled until all the wa;rry
PARTICLES and curds have been thrown off
by repeated skimmings. The clear oil is
poured into a vessel to cool, and the
granulated mass thus formed is ghee. 1t
is kept i'll earthen pots, and sold in han
vas shops at the rate Of two pounds to
three pounds for a rupee. II we'll made,
ghee will keep good for years-loSing itS
flavor somewhat, but not its properties,
which improve with age. In some old
families you win find ghee over hun
dred years old buried under the earth in
tbTlHtn JARS. INSTANCES ART hIbN u bl
the preservation of ghee. without taiut,
for 200 years, and even longer. Ghee
is an article of great commercial
Importance in many parts Of India,
being exported To all the seasOast of east
ern and southern Asia to the extent If
400 to 500 tons annually According To
the statistical authorities, / 236 4;i3
pounds Of ghee were exported from India
in the year lS19-'SO.
FOR COOKING PURPOSES.
All but the poorest classes in India,
whether Hindoos or Mohammedaus. use
ghee for ordinary cooking purposes.
Where the English cook uses butter euet
or lard, the Indian uses ghee. In frying
potatoes, in cooking dal, in making
sweetmeats, in preparing tasteful dishes
the upper and middle classes always use
ghcc, which is also rubbed over chupat-
ties. the fiat -four cakes ScrV ing for bread
and poured yer rice at the time of eat
ing. One of the secrets of the fine flavor
of Indian made Currics i the Use of
good ghee. And neither HiudOOS nor
MOhammedans will touch any food that
is cooked with ghee which they believe
10 he adulterated by pigs or COWS fat
Besides its ordinary uses, ghce Is taken
for medicinal purposes. Taken with hot
milk it acts as strong apvrlent, and
from its soothing and cooling properties
II IL rubbed over the body by fasting
people. Old ghee occupies prominent
place i'll the pharmacopwia of the Hin
dOOs who consider il the best remedy for
asthma and bronchitis. and order il to be
rubbed on the chest in eases uf whoupiuy
cough applied i'll similar way, lt
greatly alleviates pain in rheumatism,
gOut, etc. The older the ghee i the bet
ter it is priced, and the more quickly it
acts. And for all these purposes ghee
must be absolutely free from all cNrrane-
Gus matter
Ghee is believed by the HindoOs to he
the purest eatable under the sun. The
widow, who is forbidden 10 partake Of
luxurious food, is allowed to take ghCe
with her simple bread or rice. The self
denying jogees, suunyasis. and other
aScetics sometimes live ON nothing but
ghee. At weddings, funerals. and on
other grand occasions, public dinners
must be given, or the uffradiug party
will be punished by eXcommuniCatiOu
from caste. Most of the dishes that are
served at these banquets are prepared
with ghee. AT many festivals aims con-
sisting of rice, d-l and SweetncatS are
given TO Brahmins, and these sweetmGats
must be cooked in ghee. The food set
before the Brahmins AT feast times mainly
consists of sweetmeats, in the preparation
Of which ghee enters largely vt Cremu-
tiOns ghee is poured over the corpse and
on the funeral pyre.
SACRED Use OF GHEE.
Int .hn Su.ral ,f ;.-g 4,
offering to the gods. who are supposed by
the HindOOs 10 have a great prediIection
for this article Besides the deities in the
temples and shriues. 10 whom ghee mu ,t
be offered, every strict HindoO has got
his tutelary god at home, whom he wOr-
ships every day. Sandal wood aud tool
shee leaf are placed before the image, and
incense is burned before il in a little cup,
the contents of which are then thrown
over the idol This incense is COM
pound of sandal, dhoop tanother fragrant
wood, ghee, camphOr, and one or two
other things And then the god must be
fed with sweetmeats cooked in ghee. For
the worship Of all kinds Of gods the Hin
doc must use ghce, which is also the chief
thing in jags and hons, or burned offer
ings To be reinstated in caste, which a
nave lbSt DN bTtdhliiE one OF
other of its innumerahle rules, he must
go through some solemn eXpiatOry rites,
with free distribution of money to Brah-
Minis and others of course. One Of them
is that he must sOlemnly eat in public
five articles connected with the COW
ghee, curd milk, and two others which
shall not mention.
From all this it will be evident to what
L. l.. 81 u
Hindoos, and why it must be pure in all
cases. To adulterate it by an admixture
of the fat of animals which are abOmina-
tons in the eyes of the HindOOs is not
only to debase its quality and render il
unfit for culinary and medicinal purposes
for fear Of losing caste, which is so pre-
cious to thers, but also to make it lcath-
some TO the BrahminS, who must be pro-
pitiated, and to the gods, who must be
wOrshiped, with ghee. -Hindoo Letter.