Butter: Salted vs Unsalted

[Jumkie31]

Q: What's the deal with salted and unsalted butter?

A: Butter comes two ways: salted and unsalted. Salt is added to butter for flavor and as a preservative so it will have a longer shelf life. Salt, however, can sometimes overpower the sweet flavor of the butter and can also mask odors. Additionally, the amount of salt added to salted butter varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, so it's hard to know how much extra salt you're adding to a recipe. Using unsalted butter allows the chef to control the amount of salt in a recipe.

If you have no choice but to use salted butter in a recipe, the rule of thumb is to omit about 1/4 teaspoon salt per 1/2 cup (1 stick) of butter.

Unsalted butter has a short shelf life because it contains no preservatives. If you buy unsalted butter and do not use it right away, it is best to freeze it. If properly wrapped so it won't pick up any odors, butter can be frozen for around six months. Just remember to defrost the butter overnight in the refrigerator before using it.

[Raquelita]

That's interesting about the difference between salted and unsalted. I always buy unsalted and always keep extra sticks of butter in the freezer so i've never had an issue.

[BagCSC]

I am not sure if mine is salted or not. I like to use Brummel and Brown (made with yogurt).

[PoorGirl]

That is good to know. My dad just had a quad bypass and cannot have salted foods. Will tell him about this.

[muslgrl]

I always buy the salted myself

[TexasRose]

I usually buy unsalted. I'm generally a fan of salty foods so I figure it makes sense to get the unsalted butter to try and cut down just a bit. Not sure it makes an appreciable difference though.

[oldbay]

I like the Breakstone unsalted butter than comes in the tub for toast, and on vegetables. I only dab on a little, just enough for taste, because of the high fat content in butter.

For regular cooking, I only by unsalted butter in sticks. You get plenty of salt in most other foods since salt (or sugar) is the preservative in most of the "No Preservative Added" foods.

[cinnamon]

I only buy unsalted butter and have never had a problem with spoilage of butter.

[rt49andellis]

I always go with the salted also.

[marymoomoo]

I always do the salted. I simply prefer the flavor.

But, it's defintely good to have the info on salted vs unsalted. I can see where it would be valuable to use unsalted in some recipes. Thanks for the info!