Salted butter vs Unsalted ?

[pacanis]

IMO this really isn't relevant. Unless you are talking about keeping butter in your fridge for many months. I use both kinds and have never had either go bad on me.

Just put unused sticks in the freezer. No need for the foodsaver.

If I'm going to stick the bricks in the freezer until I run out of the butter in the fridge, it might as well be in a foodsaver bag. Besides, I just got it and am looking for uses

 

[Mel!]

Hello Pacanis

I use salted butter, for everything, including sweet things, like cakes and cookies. It is not so salty, that it cannot be used, for everything. I always use the salted one, because it is more available, in all supermarkets. The unsalted one, is often unavailable, and often more expensive, when it is available.

Mel

 

[Corey123]

If I'm baking a lot I by butter quite a few, say half dozen packs, at a time and freeze them....I go for salted because of keeping qualities and then just don't add a pinch of salt to my cakes/whatever...

Fresh, good quality unsalted butter is a delight, but I don't tend to buy it if its destined for the freezer or going to sit in the fridge for any length of time.....

I do that also.

But in baking, certain recipes DO tell you to use unsalted butter.

Genoise cake, for instance, not only must have unsalted butter (never knew the reason why), but it also calls for it to be clarified.

Some cake recipes call for salt even though salted butter is used.

 

[lulu]

I use salted butter the most. My applications do not demand unsalted butter. I use an alarming amount of butter. I use butter everday, on toast, in cookies, sauteing vegetables, on popcorn. The only problem I have experienced with the salted butter is that the salt level can vary. I just make sure I use the heavier salted butter in something not noticed, which is easy with my cooking. I like the preservation aspect too. Improves the flavor too, IMO. I have a better selection of salted butter than the unsalted in the local stores. But if I would happen upon a sale, I would not hesitate to purchase the unsalted, but the salted is my preference.

Just wondering if you ever make goat's butter? I haven't had it more than maybe three/four times...but it was excellent.

 

[bethzaring]

Lulu, I do not make butter from the goats' cream. Goats milk is considered to be naturally homogenized, meaning the cream does not clump together and rise to the top of the milk easily. A person needs a cream separator to seperate the cream from the milk. I have a friend who has lots of goats and a cream separator and he makes butter sometimes and gives me some. It is wonderful. I do not have a separator at this point. They are rather large and a PITA to clean.

 

[marcia321]

Salted for cooking Unsalted for Baking

I always use unsalted for baking and salted for cooking. Using too much salted butter in gentle pastry and sweet can turn the dish more savoury than sweet x

 

[Caine]

When I hear people say "I always use unsalted butter so I can control the amount of salt in <whatever they're cooking>," I want to laugh until I cry. Especially some of these Food TV hosts (read Ina Garten!) who add a couple of pounds of salt to everything they make anyway!

One tablespoon of Land O Lakes salted butter has 95 mg of sodium. There are 32 tablespoons of butter in a pound. That would be 3,040 mg of sodium PER POUND! Alta Dena salted butter weighs in a even less, with 90 mg per tablespoon.

To put that into perspective, one teaspoon of table salt contains 2,350 mg of sodium. Kosher salt is about half that, depending on brand. Do you really think that a little over 1 teaspoon of salt PER POUND of butter in a recipe is going to make any difference in the finished product?

 

[BreezyCooking]

Many years ago, salting butter was a way to not only help preserve it, but also commercially to help disguise an inferior product. These days it's simply a matter of taste.

I use both fairly equally depending on what I'm cooking.

 

[college_cook]

I prefer the unsalted variety. Like it's been said, it's easier to add salt to something than to remove it. I can always add salt to something that needs it, from baked goods to simple bread n' butter. If I had guests coming and I knew they liked salted butter on bread, I could always soften, season, whip and then refrigerate.

 

[pacanis]

I haven't found any noticeable difference in cooking with unsalted vs salted, but I don't bake either. I think I'm just going to buy whatever is on sale.

 

[Caine]

I buy salted butter for 2 reasons:

1. I don't know where you buy your butter, but where I buy mine, salted butter is about 40 cents cheaper per pound

2. I keep my butter dish in a cupboard, so I appreciate the extra storage time, even though I have never needed it

Pat for pat, no matter how you use it, the butter, and whatever you use it in or on, is going to taste exactly the same to anyone except to my mother, who is capable of smelling fly dung across a six lane highway, upwind.