Salted vs. unsalted butter?

[El...]

Just a note on unsalted butter. Unsalted butter is almost never simply butter with no salt added. Rather, it is butter with SOMETHING ELSE ADDED in place of the salt in order to cut the fatty aftertaste that you would get with just plain butter.

 

The question, then, is "What is that something else?" In many cases, it is some sort of processed vegetable product designed to give an umami flavor. (This, BTW, is why we ONLY purchase salted butter, since several of us are very sensitive to MSG.)

 

Perhaps that "something else" in unsalted butter has a flavor close enough to salt that it makes very little difference in the overall flavor of baked goods.

I'd never heard that before, and it sent me on an interesting google search!  https://www.cooksillustrated.com/how_tos/5690-butter-additives

 

I only buy unsalted now, and I like it on everything including bagels.

 

I used to watch Martha Stewart's TV show and I remember hearing her say that salted butter brands varied so much that if you used one, you couldn't predict how salty it might be.  That's why their recipes all specified unsalted. 

[kiana]

I used to watch Martha Stewart's TV show and I remember hearing her say that salted butter brands varied so much that if you used one, you couldn't predict how salty it might be.  That's why their recipes all specified unsalted. 

 

I wonder if this is why I've never had an issue? I always buy the same brand and I buy it by the case. So I do have a consistent level of salt. 

[mlktwins]

...and I have a hot topic -- LOL. Who would have thought?!?!?!?

Edited December 11, 2016 by mlktwins