Why does this confuse me?

From a recipe posted here:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon kosher salt

.
What's the problem with salted butter?

Great question, Howie, and I can't wait for answers. I always thought one had more control over quantity when salt was excluded from the butter and measured out by tsp. I await answers from those that know.....

My instinct is to say nothing, but perhaps having unsalted butter + salt allows for precision (albeit precision and me aren't on speaking terms in the kitchen ).

With salted butter there are levels of salting.

That's my take on it

regards

Ian

You can more easily tell if unsalted butter is fresh or starting to turn rancid. Many recipes do the same thing.

[David M. Bueker]

Pro chefs/cooks I know cite control/precision as the reason.

[Jenise]

From a recipe posted here:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon kosher salt

.
What's the problem with salted butter?

Nothing's wrong with salted butter, it's a good condiment. To spread on fresh bread, it's what most of us prefer. But in recipes, unsalted butter is the standard because there are some people who must cook without salt period, and specified separately it's an ingredient that can be left out or reduced to suit. In the recipe you refer to or any like it, adding both the salt quantity listed AND using salted butter would likely result in oversalting.

If I use salted butter in a recipe that calls for unsalted butter, I just leave out some salt.

I had a friend some years ago who came back from the grocery store without purchasing any butter because "there wasn't any 'heavily salted' butter, just lightly salted." I had to break the news to him that there wasn't any such thing.

From a recipe posted here:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon kosher salt

. What's the problem with salted butter?

Howie, I use unsalted for cooking, but salted for the table. Unsalted butter on a hot biscuit is just not right!

[David M. Bueker]

Howie, I use unsalted for cooking, but salted for the table. Unsalted butter on a hot biscuit is just not right!

Please explain this to my wife!

Pro chefs/cooks I know cite control/precision as the reason.

That's certainly one reason, but salted butter also has a higher amount of water in it, which can complicate cooking with it under certain circumstances.

Mark Lipton

That's certainly one reason, but salted butter also has a higher amount of water in it, which can complicate cooking with it under certain circumstances.

I am careful about it for exactly that reason when baking, although if it's a recipe I know well, I can usually wing it.

Two reasons that I've always heard as "common wisdom" for preferring unsalted butter over salted butter:

1) First and foremost, salt control. You have no idea how much salt they have put into salted butter. If you use unsalted + salt, you know exactly how much salt is going into the dish.

2) Poor quality butter can be masked by the added salt. Unsalted butter has nothing to hide behind.

I think it was Chef Carey who observed that salted butter is always labeled "lightly salted", and asks why this is so, if salt added to butter is a good thing.

-Paul W.

Yeah, salted butter is more for "them" than "us". Butter is a commodity. It can be stored much longer with the salt added. Plus, it has the added benefit - for them - of holding more water, so you are allowed the privilege of paying butter prices for water.

Kind of like IQF shrimp where you are allowed to pay shrimp prices for the thin coating of ice ensconcing each shrimp.

Or "guaranteed tender" meat with "up to 10% of a solution added".

-Paul W.

Or "guaranteed tender" meat with "up to 10% of a solution added".

-Paul W.

And the solution is nothing more than salt water, used to prolong shelf life.

[David M. Bueker]

I see we have settled in to the usual "how terrible the world is" pattern.

Well, I think it IS pretty terrible when I can't find a local supermarket that sells pork that isn't doctored with saline solution.

-Paul W.

It is, in fact, a minefield out there.

Thanks for the input. As Cynthia pointed out, I can see the importance in baking. I wasn't aware of the water content, so thanks for the info. However, I don't see the significance in something like the recipe from my original post, which came from the Inaugural Party thread:

Molasses Whipped Sweet Potatoes
Yield: 2 quarts
Ingredients
3 large sweet potatoes, about 3 pounds
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ cup orange juice
½ tablespoon of brown sugar
1 tablespoon of molasses
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
2 tablespoons maple syrup

Well, I think it IS pretty terrible when I can't find a local supermarket that sells pork that isn't doctored with saline solution.

-Paul W.

Darn pigs!

Howie, I Googled for "salted vs unsalted butter" and found this link. The response from a Chef Julie says she got the info from "The Joy of Cooking" so I would guess it is authentic. http://www.cheftalk.com/forums/food-coo ... alted.html

Thanks Bob!

[Jenise]

Thanks for the input. As Cynthia pointed out, I can see the importance in baking. I wasn't aware of the water content, so thanks for the info. However, I don't see the significance in something like the recipe from my original post, which came from the Inaugural Party thread:

Molasses Whipped Sweet Potatoes
Yield: 2 quarts
Ingredients
3 large sweet potatoes, about 3 pounds
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon kosher salt
¼ cup orange juice
½ tablespoon of brown sugar
1 tablespoon of molasses
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
2 tablespoons maple syrup

Howie, the significance is that if you use unsalted butter, you won't oversalt the food. It's that simple.