Why salted butter

Get more herb butter tips and recipes. Get the recipe: Muffin Tin Gratin Potatoes. Skip to main content. The difference between salted and unsalted butter As you're looking at recipes, you may notice that some call for either salted or unsalted butter.

What is salted butter? What is unsalted butter? Does "butter" in a recipe mean salted or unsalted butter? Do I really need to use unsalted butter? What is salt reduced butter? Recipes using butter It's no secret that butter makes food taste great, discover plenty of butter recipes below or check out this collection of Western Star butter recipes.

Get the recipe: Herb butters three ways These delicious butters are great for flavouring steaks, chicken and fish. Join thousands of home cooks and collect recipes you'll not only love, but are sure to make over and over again! But in times where this baking staple is a bit more plentiful, it's important to know the difference between two major types of butter — unsalted and salted — and when it's best to use each.

The only real difference between salted and unsalted butter is literally the salt: All butter is made from milkfat in cream and contains at least 80 percent milkfat, 18 percent water, and 2 percent solids mainly protein and salt , explains Jen Giambroni, a dairy expert with Real California Milk. The process goes like this: Pasteurized cream is shaken or churned until the milkfat butterfat separates from the remaining fluid, which is known as buttermilk.

After churning, the butter is rinsed — and salted, if making salted butter — and the excess buttermilk is removed. While both salted and unsalted butter each have their moment to shine, the bottom line is that in general, they can be easily substituted for each other, as long as you keep a few things in mind. Related : How to Stock a Baking Pantry. This is the best kind of butter to use for the table and general cooking uses, says Giambroni. That's because when you're slathering it on a piece of warm bread , for example, the saltiness helps to bring out the rich flavor and enhances the experience for your taste buds.

This is why you'll often see salt added to table butter or whipped butter at a restaurant — without the salt, it may taste flat or just fatty. In this case, you may want to use slightly less salt than the recipe calls for to account for the saltiness of the butter.

The difference between salted and unsalted butter is simple: about 90 milligrams of sodium per tablespoon. Other than that, these two butters are largely the exact same from a nutrition standpoint.

If you're watching your sodium intake, we reccomend using unsalted butter because it gives you complete control over the amount of salt in your dish. If you want to buy unsalted butter, look for the words "sweet butter" or "unsalted" at the grocery store. The term "sweet cream butter" is used for both salted and unsalted butter, so make sure to read the package label carefully. In many cases, the answer is yes—you can substitute the same amount of salted butter for unsalted butter in recipes for soups, stews, sauces, and roasted vegetables without too much worry.

Just keep in mind that you'll increase the sodium content of the entire dish by about 90mg per tablespoon of salted butter that you use. To prevent oversalting, make sure to taste your food as you cook. But for baked goods, especially breads, which aren't as forgiving, it's best to stick to unsalted butter. By Elizabeth Laseter September 19, Pin FB More.