Question

Why do certain recipes specify unsalted butter and then ask for additional salt?

Answer 1

There are no regulations as to how much salt is in salted butter - it could have hardly any, but it can have as much as 2% salt in it, which works out to quite a bit. If you are trying to control your sodium intake, it's better to not use salted butter and add as much salt as needed.. . Also, salt is a preservative, and butter with salt has a longer shelf life. Therefore, it's likely that the unsalted butter on the shelf in the grocery store is fresher than the salted counterpart right next to it.

Answer 2

If a recipe calls for unsalted butter, make sure you use it because regular butter or margarine has salt added. Chances are the salt the recipes that call for unsalted butter is less of an amount that the amount of salt found in regular butter or margarine. So trust me it makes a difference.

Answer 3

Its the same reason why people buy normal cornflakes and add sugar instead of buying frosted flakes. They want to precisely control the amounts of everything. Also salt in butter has absorbed its share of moisture and would not break down food like vegetables as well as pure salt

Answer 4

in some countries, unsalted butter is more common than salted butter. Also, some people prefer unsalted butter (me), so when they write a recipe, they use the ingredients that they are familiar with.

Answer 5

Cause they are studid, and you should never listen to advice that is contradictory or hokey.. So there.

Answer 6

I think with the salted butter you get too much salt..so if you have it unsalted you are able to add only a moderate amount. I hear about the unsalted most when you are making cookies or cakes typically. Yet..I use salted still and it doesn't effect anything. There might be a difference but I'm use to the salted butter anyway.

Answer 7

It's a control thing, but not unjustified.. . Some cooks prefer unsalted butter, because they have more control over how much salt goes into a dish and whether it's seasoned exactly the way they want it to be.. . Serious cooks will often tell you to add a small portion of the total salt in the recipe after adding each ingredient, claiming that this makes ingredient's flavor more distinctive.. . It wouldn't matter if it were something besides salt, where a small variation can have a dramatic effect.