Salted V Unsalted Butter – Which to use and when?
When to use salted butter and when to reach for unsalted? Each variety has its ideal applications, making the choice more than just a matter of personal preference. Let’s delve!
Salted butter contains added salt. (Duh.) The salt not only imparts a savoury tang but is also a preservative and extends the shelf life. Salted butter will last around five months in the fridge while unsalted is usually good for about three. Salted butter is ace for spreading on bread or toast, because the salt enhances the overall taste of just about anything. The amount of salt in salted butter can vary between brands but as a general guide, it typically contains about 1-3% salt by weight. This means 1 to 3 grams of salt for every 100 grams of salted butter but you knew that because you can math. It’s essential to check the nutrition label on the packaging for precise information and hey, who doesn’t love reading the small print on food labels?
In cooking, salted butter shines in savoury dishes. Fry your eggs, sauté your veggies, smother your corn, finish your steak, mantecare your risotto (which means to ‘mount’ it with butter to finish, but the Italian sounds way less dodgy), and cook your fish in glorious salted browned butter…. mmm. That yummo rich smack around the chops of buttery goodness gets us every time. Salted butter also adds depth to sauces and is critical in heart-stoppers like hollandaise, béarnaise and beurre blanc. However, it's helpful to remember that variable salt content among different brands, so adjustments could be needed to achieve your desired saltiness in a dish.
Unsalted butter is more neutral, serving as a blank canvas for many dishes, but mainly sweet ones. Without the addition of salt, unsalted butter gives the cook precise control over seasoning, making it the preferred choice in baking where you want more sweetness than anything else. you want a SMIDGE of salt, as salt enhances even sweet flavours, but only a smidge. Salt can also impact the texture of baked goods – another reason for using unsalted. (How does it do this? Salt strengthens the gluten in flour, which is great for bread baking, but pretty dismal for cakes, cookies and pastry as this will make them tough). Will your baked goodies flop if you use the wrong butter? If you’ve only got salted butter, no worries. Your baking will still be OK; just don’t add any additional salt if a recipe calls for some.
