ghee, is it just butter

[curlyfilm]

i know ghee is supposed to be just clarified butter, but the shop bought ones seem to have a fragrant smell, its sort of sweet and sickly, because i buy an imported one, i can't read the ingrediants, it smells like some sort of additive, bit like an old paint thinner me dad used, like pear drops can anyone shed any light, thanks

[curlyfilm]

is it anything to do with amyl butyrate

[oldwoman]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghee According to here it shouldn`t have anything added.

[theprof]

The ghee you have bought is beginning to decompose. The fatty acids in the product will not have been completely liberated as yet, so technically, you could not call the product rancid.

The production of various ketones and esters within ghee is part of this process and these substances do have the sweet, sickly smell you describe. I won't go into the chemistry as its quite complicated. Amyl butyrate (also known as isoamyl butyrate or pentyl butyrate) is one such ester and does have a smell like pear-drops or apricots.

I can't account for the fact that all the shop bought ones seem to have this fragrant smell. it may be that they are from the same batch at the factory or have undergone the same storage conditions.

Are you talking about the same shop? If so, does all the ghee possess the same batch number? Can you establish how long ago the ghee was manufactured? How is the ghee packaged? All this may have some relevance.

[curlyfilm]

cheers prof, another smell that came into me head was
N-Butyric Acid, but that has a rancid butter smell, as a chef i make clarified butter all the time so know the smell, but do like using ghee for spicey food because of its fragrant smell, so thats why i think it does has something added to it
was amyl butyrate or N-Butyric Acid ever used in paint

[theprof]

I doubt that n-butyric acid has ever been used in paint. I think that paint stinks enough without adding that distinctive, rancid smell of n-butyric acid. Most paint manufacturers have spent years trying to make low-odour formulations and that would certainly be the wrong way to go about things.

Most n-butyric acid production goes towards the synthesis of butyrate esters for perfume and flavouring use. It's has also been used as a petrol additive and in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals.

Amyl butyrate (isoamyl butyrate) is a different story. It's been used for years in the manufacture of perfumes and flavouring agents. It's also used in lacquers and some types of paint.

Interestingly, there's another chemical called cellulose acetate butyrate (cellulose acetobuylbutyrate) which has many industrial uses including being used in lacquers and paints.

So, yes, you might well have smelt amyl butyrate in paint products and there is a chance it's in the ghee too.

Having said that, I haven't been able to trace any permissible or known additive to genuine ghee that would account for the fragrant smell. Much effort seems to go into its manufacturer to ensure the purity as oldwoman said. Nevertheless, I can't see why a manufacturer would not try to market a fragrant version if there was a market for it, which clearly there is.

I can only suggest that you contact the manufacturer direct to try to find out what's being added to the ghee. Unfortunately, due to some loopholes in food-labelling regulations arising from incompetance in the EC, manufacturers do not have to declare all the ingredients present in a product and amyl butyrate might well be present.

[theprof]

I need to look into this further.

Bearing in mind that isoamyl butyrate is produced during the decomposition of ghee, it's odd that a manufacturer could be adding the same ester as a flavouring agent. Other esters should function just as well.

[curlyfilm]

thanks very much for your answers prof,, the reason i spoke about amyl butyrate and n butyric was that i used to use them in fishing baits years ago, and both to very good effect , thanks again for your time