Gir · The Nurturer

Gir

Gentle · Golden · Generous

Native to the Gir forests of Saurashtra. Unhurried, heat-hardy and unmistakable. The breed behind our first jar.

Native region
Saurashtra, Gujarat
Bloodline
Born of Saurashtra
Shop Gir ghee
Gir cows freely grazing in the open lands in Gujarat.

Born of Saurashtra

A cow is never just a cow. The Gir was born of Saurashtra, her calm, her gold, her gentleness drawn from its warm green land. For generations, the same families have raised her there, shaped by the same earth and the same unhurried days. This is her bloodline. And now a little of it comes home with you.

  1. The breed

    Domed forehead, long pendulous ears, a gentle temperament and famous heat tolerance.

  2. The land

    The warm green country of Saurashtra, where the Gir forest meets grazing land.

  3. The people

    Families who have raised Gir cattle across the same districts for generations.

  4. Her history

    Named for the Gir forest of Saurashtra. Exported to Brazil in the early twentieth century, where she became the Gyr and, crossed with Holstein, the Girolando that supplies much of Brazilian milk today. One of very few Indian breeds to have reshaped dairying on another continent.

  5. Her milk

    A moderate yield by industrial standards, but rich enough in fat that ghee is worth the trouble of making. Her milk carries A2 beta-casein, which is what the name on the jar refers to.

  6. Where she stands

    Secure in her home tract and valued abroad, which is not true of most Indian breeds. The risk is dilution rather than disappearance: crossbreeding for yield steadily thins the pure Gir line.

  7. The ghee

    Deep amber gold, a rich and sweet aroma, and a soft granular (danedar) set that melts mellow and generous.