How Pure Ghee Is Made: The Ancient Bilona Method

Most commercially produced ghee is made by separating cream from milk using industrial machines and then directly heating the cream to produce ghee. While this process is efficient, it differs from the traditional method described in Ayurvedic and Vedic practices.

Authentic Bilona Ghee is prepared using a time-honored, multi-step process:

1. Boiling: Fresh A2 milk from indigenous (Desi) cows is gently boiled, traditionally in earthen pots over a wood or cow-dung fire.
2. Curding: The milk is cooled and cultured overnight to form whole curd.
3. Churning (Bilona): The curd is churned bi-directionally using a traditional wooden churner, known as a Bilona, separating the butter (Makhan) from the buttermilk.
4. Melting: The fresh butter is carefully collected, washed, and slowly heated in a thick-bottomed vessel until the moisture evaporates, leaving behind golden, aromatic, and granular ghee.

Producing authentic Bilona Ghee is a labor-intensive process. It typically requires 25–30 liters of A2 milk to produce just 1 liter of ghee, which is one of the reasons traditionally made Bilona Ghee is significantly more expensive than mass-produced alternatives.