With its high smoke point and rich, nutty flavor, ghee—a form of clarified butter—is ideal for searing and sautéing. But quality varies by brand, with some tasting flat or fatty rather than buttery. To find our favorite, we blind-tasted several, then used them to bloom spices and sear steak.

A good ghee should be golden, aromatic and balanced in flavor. Look for certified organic or grass­fed varieties for the best taste, and consider cultured ghee for extra complexity. Whether traditional or cultured, a well-made ghee has an impressive shelf life. Stored properly, it lasts up to three months in the pantry or a year refrigerated.

In our testing, one premium brand stood out: Pure Indian Foods. Made with grass-fed dairy, their traditional ghee impressed us with its rich, balanced browned-­butter flavor. They also sell a cultured version, made from fermented dairy. It offered a complexity some testers preferred. Both displayed a grainy texture that disappears when heated, a hallmark of small-batch production. Another premium brand, 4th & Heart (also grass-fed), was a close second. It delivered a slightly milder flavor that still performed beautifully in cooking.

Carrington Farms and Organic Valley were reliable mid-range options. Carrington offered buttery, caramelized notes (though some tasters detected off-putting cheesy undertones). Organic Valley was smooth but lacked depth. At the bottom, Ziyad and Nature’s Promise disappointed with funky flavors, while Trader Joe’s version contained visible milk solids (indicating insufficient straining) and otherwise lacked true ghee characteristics.