I have been using ghee in my cooking now for a long time and I think the results are much better when using ghee as appose to oil. I know that ghee is saturated fat but do you think that it's healthier than using oil? I've heard that the body can't digest most vegetable oils and that they use peroxide in the making of some vegetable oils. Would this include olive oil too? Apparently, olive oil is no better for us than any other oil, yet people still apply it liberally to their dishes.

Hi

I would say ghee is about as healthy as butter, as effectively that's what it is, but clarified (meaning the impurities taken out). Personally, I don't use it unless its for special occasions and my indian recipes don't seem to suffer. I use ground nut, sunflower, veg or olive oil.

Ghee, or any solid fat is going to be quite saturated, which is not the best thing to have in your diet. In the UK, there is a recommendation for a certain level. Any solid fat, animal or vegetable, will be quite saturated, and the animal fats will contain cholesterol, of course.

The ghee, however, is more than just clarified butter. The milk sugar (lactose) reacts with milk protein (caesine) to form slightly nutty flavour compounds, which dissolve in the fat, giving a much deeper flavour than just clarified butter.

Olive oil is good for the human diet, and is rich in omega 6 fatty acid esters. If mixed in a 50/50 ratio with rape seed oil (rich in omega 3 fatty acid esters), this is a great source of omega 3 and 6 in the correct ratio, for a very healthy diet.