What is Bilona Ghee?
Bilona is a process term. Learn what the traditional route actually involves, where the terminology comes from and what questions a buyer should ask.
READ ARTICLE →THE JOURNAL
Thoughts. Traditions. Ingredients.
A growing knowledge base on Indian provisions, traditional processes, provenance and the questions worth asking.
The Indian Pantry
An editorial look at the ingredients, regions and traditions that make the Indian pantry worth exploring.
READ ARTICLE →What makes a provision worth choosing?
Why provenance, process and selection can matter more than packaging adjectives.
READ ARTICLE →KNOWLEDGE / BILONA
What is Bilona Ghee?
Bilona ghee generally refers to a traditional method in which milk is first cultured into curd. The curd is then churned to obtain butter, and that butter is heated until it becomes clarified butterfat.
The important distinction is process. The word Bilona should not be treated as a substitute for knowing the actual production method, sourcing or testing behind a product.
For a buyer, useful questions include: What milk is used? Is the milk cultured into curd? Is the curd churned? How is the finished ghee clarified? What documentation supports the claims?
ORIGIN
The Indian Pantry.
India's pantry is not one pantry. It is a collection of regional ingredients, agricultural traditions, preservation methods, spices, oils, grains, sweets and dairy practices.
PFS intends to explore that breadth selectively, beginning with products where provenance and process can be explained properly.
PERSPECTIVE
What makes a provision worth choosing?
A provision earns attention when there is something real to understand: a place, a process, a producer, an ingredient, a tradition or a standard that stands up to scrutiny.
Luxury presentation can make a product memorable, but it should never be asked to substitute for substance.