Unsalted Butter . . . Why?

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Back to Baking
Back to Baking

By Anna Olson

Published 2011

  • About
This is likely the question I’m asked most often about baking, and it is certainly a logical one to ask: since most recipes call for salt, why use unsalted butter in baking?
Here are the three main reasons:
  1. Brand by brand, the salt content in salted butter can vary, and ultimately you want to be the one in control of the salt in your baking.
  2. Recipe by recipe, the butter measurements vary from as little as a teaspoon to up to a pound. And recipe by recipe, the salt measurements vary, too. The only way to truly control butter and salt proportions is to keep the salt and butter measurements separate.
  3. Salt is a natural preservative, and it extends the shelf life of butter both in the grocery refrigerator and in your own. That said, with a longer shelf life comes a greater opportunity for butter to pick up “fridge taste.” While you may not taste the age of your butter when you spread half a teaspoon of it on your toast in the morning, you will taste it when you use a cup in a shortbread cookie recipe. Unsalted butter is fresher and sweeter tasting.