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‘Beta isse weight nahi badhega’ (child this will not increase your weight), is what an Indian mother says while smothering a paratha with tons of Ghee. Yes, ghee equates to mother’s love in our diverse country.

An Indian kitchen is forever incomplete without ghee. The delicious chicken biryani and ghar ki dal (homemade lentils), which all of us eat to our heart’s content, has ample amounts of ghee in it. For us Indians, ghee is an emotion encompassing generations of tradition, core memories associated with food and an aromatic delight hitting the taste receptors in the brain.

Recently, I was approached to foodstyle Gowardhan ghee for a television commercial (TVC), and I was more than ecstatic. Being a true Indian I can also associate with the richness and grandeur of ghee. I was over the moon all the while preparing for the shoot, collecting props, and thinking about the set-up and different ways to approach the versatile ghee, even before I had received the client’s brief.?

To be truthful, the shoot was an exhilarating and eye-opening experience.

Pour that ghee

Ghee is a part of the culture for us Indians. We gauze the purity of ghee by its colour, aroma, size, and number of grains in it. The burden of presenting these characteristics fell upon my shoulders at the same time making it a visual delight for the viewers. No one wants to buy ghee that looks liquidy, stale and non-grainy in a television commercial.

My team and I had to put in hours and hours of R&D, as I had never worked with ghee. I did rigorous research on how to best present ghee that is tempting and appealing to the TV audience. My investigation into the realm of ghee included going through past ghee TVCs, learning about how to manipulate the temperature for best consistency and many such things.

Paving my way through the challenges

??Perfecting the flow- Our first challenge was how to magnificently showcase consistent flow and grainy texture of ghee.

Foodstyling for a TVC is hectic and becomes even more troublesome when the product is temperature sensitive. As we all know, pure ghee is grainy in semi-solid form, but at the same time, it’s difficult to pour. Gowardhan ghee had visible grains but it needed a boost to reach the consistency which every buyer looks for.

Taking the challenge head-on, I had to play with a variety of temperature combinations to come up with a container of ghee that had visible grains and was easy to pour.??

??Crown fit for a king- We were also required to deliver a perfect crown formation shot. A phenomenon that can only be achieved at the right temperature. Again temperature adjustments had to be made, so it could form a flawless crown when poured from a height into a hot pan.?

??Making ghee irresistible- The client asked us to prepare gajar ka halwa, to latch on the emotions of the Indian audience. The task was impossible as red carrots were not in season. The next option was to add food colour, but a halwa made with food colour will not resonate with the audience.

So, we had to walk down a different path, suji ka halwa. Another daunting task was, how to transform suji ka halwa, so it catches the eye of the audience. To bring forth the most delectable halwa, I decorated it with pistachios and rose petals. The garnishing elevated the dish to a whole ‘nother level which not only appealed to the eye but hearts also.

And yes, saying proudly we successfully delivered on all the crucial points.

??Pro Tip- When foodstyling ghee, manipulate temperature to reach a consistency where ample grains are visible and flow easily. Mix liquid and solid ghee in various proportions to reach the perfect strand consistency for the perfect shot.

??Bonus Pro Tip- All types of professional shooting and photography involve the use of bright lights. Keep in mind the temperature of ghee increases because of them, so be quick and efficient.

Who would have thought food-styling ghee would have been such a humongous task? I have worked with a score of food items, and every shoot helps me grow as a food-stylist. This shoot was no different. It was an enormous learning curve. Not only it taught me how to successfully foodstyle ghee, but mastering the art of temperature control for the desired result. I hope my journey is inspiring for you to take the torch and join me on this path.

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