Is there lactose in ghee?

If you’ve been eyeing off ghee and wondering whether it’ll set off your stomach — relax. Of all the dairy-derived things you could worry about, ghee is one of the safest.

Here’s why: ghee is clarified butter. To make it, butter is simmered until the water evaporates and the milk solids — the bits that contain lactose and milk proteins — separate out and are skimmed or strained away. What’s left is almost pure butterfat, with only trace amounts of lactose that rarely trouble even sensitive tummies.

:::note Mate to mate: if you react to even a teaspoon of ghee, it’s worth checking whether it’s actually a milk-protein issue rather than lactose — they’re different things, and ghee still contains tiny amounts of milk protein. :::

How much lactose is actually in ghee?

Regular butter already sits low on the lactose scale (most of it is fat). Ghee takes that further by removing the small amount of milk solids butter still contains. The result is a fat that’s essentially lactose-free — the trace that remains is far below the threshold most people react to.

For comparison, a glass of regular milk has around 12g of lactose. A tablespoon of ghee has a trace — we’re talking a rounding error.

When to still be a little careful

Two situations worth a mention. First, if you have a genuine milk allergy (a reaction to milk protein, not lactose), the trace proteins in ghee could still be a problem — that’s a conversation for your GP. Second, cheaper “ghee-style” spreads aren’t always true ghee; check the label for added milk solids.