# Butter: Salted vs. Unsalted?



## koukouvagia (Apr 3, 2008)

There was a discussion recently on another forum about the difference in using butter vs. salted butter.  Some people mentioned that salted butter is older butter usually made from older cream.  Does anyone support this idea?  I haven't used unsalted butter (except in baking) for years.


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## chefedb (Apr 3, 2010)

I do not believe that statement, but it is added as a slight preservative, and simply because the American Palat likes sthe taste of salt.


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## shroomgirl (Aug 11, 2000)

salt masks freshness.


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## tylerm713 (Aug 6, 2010)

I prefer unsalted butter simply because it makes it easier for me to control the salt content of what I'm cooking. As far as quality between salted and unsalted, it probably depends heavily on the brand. I've never noticed a huge difference in freshness, but I typically only buy unsalted.


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## mattfin (Apr 16, 2007)

Agreed. When I want to add salt, I add salt.  When I want to add butter, I add butter.  I'm a control freak like that, and thus am an unsalted butter man myself.  Also, it's one of the very few constants of Italian cooking - Italian cooks always use unsalted butter.

I have never heard, or experienced, a freshness difference with salted butter myself.  But to be fair, I use it so rarely, I'm no expert.  The thing that i would say is - how long are you expecting your butter to be sitting around?  I don't have mountains of unused butter anywhere, what I buy usually gets used quickly enough, so my guess would be that even if the salted butter were a little less fresh, it wouldn't then be held by you for so long that it would be tragically out of date, right?..  In short, it sounds like a bit of a storm in a teacup...


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## koukouvagia (Apr 3, 2008)

MattFin said:


> Agreed. When I want to add salt, I add salt. When I want to add butter, I add butter. I'm a control freak like that, and thus am an unsalted butter man myself. Also, it's one of the very few constants of Italian cooking - Italian cooks always use unsalted butter.


Hmm I wonder what our Italian friend Siduri would say about that.

I used to buy unsalted butter exclusively, never touched the salted stuff. Then I started going to this great bagel place in my neighborhood and always ordered a cinammon raisin bagel with butter in the mornings. It was soooooo good it was crazy good! Sometimes I would buy just the bagel and take it home and put butter on it myself but it never tasted as good. So I asked them one day, what kind of butter do you use? And they replied "regular salted butter." Ahha, so it's the salt that I liked. I haven't bought unsalted butter since, I now like flavor especially when it comes to spreading on sweet things like muffins, pancakes, banana breads, bagels, etc. For cooking there's not much difference I could go either way and I tend to use salted butter sometimes in baking too, I have no qualms about it if I don't have unsalted butter laying around.


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## gonefishin (Nov 6, 2004)

Koukouvagia, I would urge you, rather than ask, to go out and try some butter side by side.  You may want to limit it to only Salted Vs Unsalted, but I would say that once you have explored those options start trying other various brands side by side also.  I think we've all had a few different types, brands, of butter before...but to try a small bit side by side will really give you the opportunity to taste the little nuances that do make a difference.  I just can't even try to compare all unsalted butter to all salted butter...there's just too much variance in flavors (to me)

   Much like honey, beef, pork, etc...milk is no different.  You vary the feed in the animal that produces the milk and you vary the flavors.

  Dan


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## siduri (Aug 13, 2006)

Koukouvagia said:


> Hmm I wonder what our Italian friend Siduri would say about that.
> 
> I used to buy unsalted butter exclusively, never touched the salted stuff. Then I started going to this great bagel place in my neighborhood and always ordered a cinammon raisin bagel with butter in the mornings. It was soooooo good it was crazy good! Sometimes I would buy just the bagel and take it home and put butter on it myself but it never tasted as good. So I asked them one day, what kind of butter do you use? And they replied "regular salted butter." Ahha, so it's the salt that I liked. I haven't bought unsalted butter since, I now like flavor especially when it comes to spreading on sweet things like muffins, pancakes, banana breads, bagels, etc. For cooking there's not much difference I could go either way and I tend to use salted butter sometimes in baking too, I have no qualms about it if I don't have unsalted butter laying around.


About the italians using only unsalted, Mattfin is right, they do - until fifteen years ago i would go nuts trying to find salted butter here. But they also use very little butter at least in this area of italy (central), and as I've said elsewhere, most people in this part of the country can;t tell good butter from bad. Most people have slightly rancid butter in their house, butter is often a secondary product of cheese factories, and much of it has absorbed the cheesy smell of the cheese factory. It's ok if you;re making bechamel for your lasagne and are going to be putting cheese in it, but not for putting on bread.

As for the salty butter having more taste, yeah, we all know salt enhances flavor. Of course it tastes better. That;s why you put a little salt in sweet dishes too (try a pinch of salt in hot cocoa, for instance). I know people like to measure salt with a jeweler's scale, but i tell you that the little bit in salt is not going to ruin your cake. You might even like it better!


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## koukouvagia (Apr 3, 2008)

I've tried all kinds of butter actually.  Inexpensive butter, imported butters, salted, unsalted, butters from farmer's markets etc.  Some are better than others and we all have our preferences.  I don't turn my nose up to any butter, but I prefer to use salted.

Siduri, I'm not surprised as greece and italy are una fazza una razza (spelling sorry!).  Butter is a little used ingredient in savory cooking and most home cooks even bake cakes and cookies with olive oil.  Did I ever tell you about the time I made roasted potatoes and everyone at the dinner party was ooohing and aaaahing over my potatoes in greece?  They asked me what did I do to make them so delicious and I said "butter."  Everyone put their forks down simultaneously, made a grimace and didn't touch their potatoes again.  Oh well, more for me!


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## siduri (Aug 13, 2006)

Koukouvagia said:


> Siduri, I'm not surprised as greece and italy are una fazza una razza (spelling sorry!). Butter is a little used ingredient in savory cooking and most home cooks even bake cakes and cookies with olive oil. Did I ever tell you about the time I made roasted potatoes and everyone at the dinner party was ooohing and aaaahing over my potatoes in greece? They asked me what did I do to make them so delicious and I said "butter." Everyone put their forks down simultaneously, made a grimace and didn't touch their potatoes again. Oh well, more for me!


i'll never forget that story, Koukou. It rings so familiar to me. Not with butter particularly, because italians WILL try it in salty things, but for other stuff (cheese with fish, anyone? or sugar in salty stuff? or salt in the cake as a matter of fact) they do. I never tell them till after they FINISH it. I know better!


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## sparkie (Feb 12, 2011)

At home, where I use the butter mostly for toast, bagels, pankcakes & such... I love the salted butter. For baking gotta go unsalted, had some bad experiences w/ over salty pastries cause of not accounting for the salt in the butter. At work, I only use unsalted. This way I'm in total control. I can add salt to any item as nessecary.


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## chefedb (Apr 3, 2010)

My opinion is that salted butter taste better on a sweet type baked product like Cino Bagel or cino raisin bread.. I think the sweet and salt combo brings out the best in both taste. If I eat unsalted butter, I prefer Irish Butter (my Taste)  (99% of time I cook with salted butter.


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## prairiechef (May 22, 2010)

I only ever use unsalted butter.

and I always have salt.

Ergo, I have salted butter whenever I want it, and I have unsalted butter when I want it.


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## chrislehrer (Oct 9, 2008)

The traditional point is that salted butter keeps somewhat better, and thus the expiration date on salted butter would be farther out. It's not that unsalted butter would be necessarily fresher, but you had much better odds. Without knowing whether the FDA still prescribes different expiration terms on butter, salted and unsalted, there's no way to know what you're getting in the US market unless you buy from some small purveyor (read: very expensive). But that's why Julia Child, for example, always swore by unsalted: salted butter might be quite old, but unsalted never was, because it'd go off and couldn't be sold (and you'd notice it, of course, and could return it in a rage).


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## pcieluck (Dec 9, 2010)

Unsalted butter on toast...gross.  Salted butter in sautees... okay. But if i'm making a sauce that's going to thicken considerably, then I won't use salted butter just because it's one less way I will find that sauce isn't too salty after it's reduced. When I'm using ingredients that are naturally salty on their own, I won't use salted butter. Peccorino cheese or anchovies for example.


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## koukouvagia (Apr 3, 2008)

So we all agree then, there are uses for both salted and unsalted butter.


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## gonefishin (Nov 6, 2004)

ChrisLehrer said:


> But that's why Julia Child, for example, always swore by unsalted: salted butter might be quite old, but unsalted never was, because it'd go off and couldn't be sold (and you'd notice it, of course, and could return it in a rage).


 Hi Chris,

That can be good advice in some markets, but not in others. I think you need to not only take into consideration the butter you're buying, but also the butter other people are buying at the particular store you're at. In regards to which one is fresher, how many people are buying the unsalted butter as opposed to the salted. Turn over, in each region, is certainly a concern that needs to be addressed when discussing freshness in butter bought.

Dan


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## siduri (Aug 13, 2006)

that was always my impression, Dan, when i lived in the states.  The unsalted was always rancid-tasting.  But then, back in the 70s, who bought it? 

Unfortunately here it's also usually off, even if almost nobody buys the salted, because the salted is made by only a couple of companies, and imported, and they like to keep their image up - Lurpak and President, and both in fact, have unsalted butter that tastes fresh and sweet. 

Prarie chef,  you can salt your butter on top, but that's like saying you don;t have to salt food when you cook because you can always put salt on top.  But you must admit it;s different. 

I salt the butter when i'm a guest where there is no salted butter, or when i couldn;t buy it in the past.  But it;s not the same thing. 

And I do sometimes buy unsalted for cooking or baking, but it;s only because it;s cheaper.  I find it very unpractical to have two kinds, though. I may go a long time before baking and then it goes bad.  (and the cheap unsalted is more often bad tasting to begin with, to the extent that i don;t really like to use it even in cooking.


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## Guest (Feb 19, 2011)

I like, even prefer, salted butter on bread. I cook with unsalted butter. In the house, I only have unsalted butter. Salted butter is more of a special treat for, like a flavored spread.

-AJ


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## carolee1945 (Sep 16, 2010)

I notice good restaurants use unsalted butter with their French bread and it is delicious. I prefer it. At home, I used salted butter and it tastes better than unsalted on my own bread. Is it psychological???

Should I start a new thread with this question: how long should you keep butter in the refrigerator?  What about freezing butter? Does taste degrade?  Let me know if this should be a new thread because I am totally new to doing these forum postings.


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## carolee1945 (Sep 16, 2010)

Okay, here is something else. When I travelled in Europe, the butter in England and France was absolutely scrumptious.  I have bought the so called gourmet butters and they never taste the way they tasted in Europe. Why? Is it me? Has anyone else had this experience?


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## kokopuffs (Aug 4, 2000)

@Carolee1945: 

Are European butters made from raw cream instead of the pasteurized stuff?  That might also explain the reason why the american versions of european cheeses taste slightly different.


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## bughut (Aug 18, 2007)

Salt has been used for centuries to preserve butter out of neccessity. Hardly a priority these days with refridgeration. I guess its simply a matter of taste.

I use slightly salted Lurpak for general use, cookies and sweet pastry. For savoury pastry - i/2 n1/2 with lard. any other baking i happily use hard block margarine.

I dislike French butter. It tastes rather cheesy. I tried the president 'cos i quite like their Brie. But Naah!


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## siduri (Aug 13, 2006)

carolee1945 said:


> Okay, here is something else. When I travelled in Europe, the butter in England and France was absolutely scrumptious. I have bought the so called gourmet butters and they never taste the way they tasted in Europe. Why? Is it me? Has anyone else had this experience?


I think the UK in general has wonderful dairy stuff and people do eat butter a lot. I haven't been much in France, but i imagine that, at least parts of France, are very dairy oriented too, and butter, of course, is a mainstay of most of french cooking so it is going to be good.

I read that european butter has less water in it - why i don't know. It;s not made of unpasteurized cream, but in france i believe i read it's made of some sort of cultured cream - "creme fraiche" maybe?


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## koukouvagia (Apr 3, 2008)

carolee1945 said:


> Okay, here is something else. When I travelled in Europe, the butter in England and France was absolutely scrumptious. I have bought the so called gourmet butters and they never taste the way they tasted in Europe. Why? Is it me? Has anyone else had this experience?


I noticed that in England too. The dairy in general in England was superb, from the eggs to the milk to the butter etc. In France not so much, I agree with bughut that the cheese is quite cheesy, yet still good.

Here I have tried all kinds of gourmet butters and have settled on Irish kerrygold being the smoothest, creamiest and tastiest butter to you. Sometimes my husband forces me to buy Land o' Lakes or Breakstones because they're the only kind that go on sale but the sit uneated, I really don't like their taste at all.


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## bughut (Aug 18, 2007)

I totally agree Koukouvagia.Irish Kerrygold is a lovely butter. In fact I would also highly reccommend Irish cheddar too and Certainly their beef. That coming from someone who lives in the heart of Angus beef country is praise indeed

Does anyone ever make their own butter? And I'm not talking about over-whipping the double cream/img/vbsmilies/smilies/wink.gif


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## ishbel (Jan 5, 2007)

I cook with unsalted butter.

I use salted butter on bread, in sandwiches and on toast. 

I love French Bridel butter.  The 'slightly salted' (as we call it in the UK) version has tiny grains of sea salt in the pat.  Scrumptious on toast!  I used to eat Kerrygold - but haven't bought it for about 20 years or so.  I also eat a locally made butter - which I buy at my local butcher as it is made on his family organic farm.  It's just wonderful, but the supply is limited and he has a few, favoured customers who get first dibs on it.  I also like Cornish butter when I'm down in that area.


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## chrislehrer (Oct 9, 2008)

gonefishin said:


> That can be good advice in some markets, but not in others. I think you need to not only take into consideration the butter you're buying, but also the butter other people are buying at the particular store you're at. In regards to which one is fresher, how many people are buying the unsalted butter as opposed to the salted. Turn over, in each region, is certainly a concern that needs to be addressed when discussing freshness in butter bought.


Absolutely agreed, Dan. My point wasn't that everyone should rush out and buy unsalted butter, but that Julia Child et al., in their day, had specific reasons for recommending it. Mrs. Child was so influential that people continue to repeat her prescriptions without entirely understanding where she was coming from and why.

In my local markets, I find that one has to scrutinize expiration dates closely. It is true that unsalted butter with a distant expiration date tastes more consistently fresh than does salted butter with a similarly distant expiration date, but beyond that it's a matter of which butter, at which market. There are fabulous salted, imported butters that kick the pants off anything local, and there are fabulous unsalted, local butters that slaughter anything else. On the whole, I incline toward unsalted: I find that I am more likely to get what I want that way.

My point was simply that expiration dates can be a hair longer on salted butters, and that this is worth thinking about. And, of course, for those who swear by Mrs. Child and others of her day, a caveat regarding why she recommended what she did. Beyond this, I have no axes to grind.


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## gonefishin (Nov 6, 2004)

ChrisLehrer said:


> ...Beyond this, I have no axes to grind.


 I didn't think you did. It seems like sometimes it's best to buy hard to find items from a store you would expect to find them at, instead of buying them from the store where you're surprised to find them at. I know that I've been fooled into being excited to see that hard to find item at a store that I didn't expect to see it, only to find it near, or past, the expiration date. Double Devon cream is one that comes to mind...as well as some more expensive cheeses and butters sitting at stores that just don't move these items. I was just adding a few of my thoughts on top of your good advice, just something that I have found to watch out for.

take care,

Dan


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## kevin rayoni (Jan 19, 2011)

My refrigerator is always so full so i just buy unsalted and add the salt when needed.  but go into my pantry and you'll find about 10 different types of oil. ha


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## sarahg (Dec 29, 2010)

I definitely prefer salted butter because I am a big believer in seasoning.  And for me, it adds a subtle layer of flavoring in the production of a recipe.  I find that under seasoned food is quite common, even among some professionals...  But I also think what the butter is being used for may also determine one's choice of salted or unsalted.  For instance, I use unsalted butter when I am clarifying, etc...  Although some claim that unsalted butter has a more delicate and fresh flavor and they also see the virtue of unsalted butter in the reduction of sodium intake, for me, I don't really think, in the final analysis, that it makes a significant difference.  It's my preference to use salted, but in fact, they can be used interchangeably, as I often do since I generally have both on hand at any given time...


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## pcieluck (Dec 9, 2010)

Granny Smith said:


> You might try using salted butter. The salt is a natural preservative. Unsalted butter turns rancid faster than salted..


Excuse me for quoting another thread, but this was a point i felt was very valid in here. Salted butter could add shelf life to pastries.


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## siduri (Aug 13, 2006)

pcieluck said:


> Excuse me for quoting another thread, but this was a point i felt was very valid in here. Salted butter could add shelf life to pastries.


Well, no more than adding salt directly to the recipe, no?


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## kyheirloomer (Feb 1, 2007)

Given the amount of salt, I doubt that it would have any significant effect on the shelf life of pastries. I mean let's get real here.

As a preservative, salt is used in rather large quantities. Large enough, at any rate, that any foodstuffs preserved that way taste distinctly of it. I have, in fact, been biting my tongue about salt butter, nowadays, having a longer shelf-life than unsalted. I suggest that if anyone actually perform a test they'd find no significant difference, no matter what use-by dates say.

Salt butter (in the U.S. at least) is offered because many people prefer its taste. That's pretty much the only reason for it. Manufacturers work on the conclusive implication that it will be refrigerated, so other preservation methods are unnecessary (as well as adding cost).


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