I love trying new recipes, and one of my favorite places to look is online;). Cook’n’s home feed page is amazing, and I love adding to my collection. As I look at various recipes on blogs, food websites, etc. I tend to see 2 questions asked more frequently than any others. How many does a particular recipe feed (unless it specifically states it in the recipe), and which butter do you use? Salted or unsalted?

Some recipes mark the specific butter, but others just say butter, leaving you to play a guessing game. So how do you know if you should use salted or unsalted- or does it even matter?

It might be interesting to note that the reason we even have an option is that back in the day adding salt to butter was actually a way to preserve it and make it last longer. That’s really not a big deal now, since we have refrigerators and most of us live just a few minutes away from a grocery store, but salted and unsalted butter is still produced because people got used to cooking with one or the other. So basically, the only difference between these two butters really is just the salt- and since a long shelf life isn’t a huge deal if you have a freezer, it ultimately comes down to taste.

I think the biggest factor at play when deciding to buy salted or unsalted is what the butter will be used for. Baking is definitely the trickiest. A good rule of thumb is if the recipe calls for salt, you’re probably okay using unsalted butter. If you’re trying to bake a recipe and only have salted butter, but it calls for unsalted butter, adjust the recipe by cutting the salt in half if you’re concerned with it being too salty. However, one thing to keep in mind is that salted butter varies in the amount of salt it has between brands, or even in batches of butter within in the same brand. So it’s really not a very exact science, but you can make it work;).

So then the question is- does it really matter what butter I use? Interestingly enough, I found an article on Good Housekeeping in which someone baked 3 batches of cupcakes, varying the butter and salt. They blindfolded some testers and let them try a bite from each. Here was the results:

· 50% preferred unsalted butter with added salt.

· 38% preferred salted butter with no added salt.

· 12% preferred salted butter with added salt.

I thought this was very interesting because I personally prefer salted butter and usually don’t adjust anything- but by the results of this experiment it looks like I should start thinking about it;). However, the opinions on salted vs. unsalted change up a bit in a different context. When spreading butter on toast, most people probably prefer salted butter as it gives it so much more flavor. The same could be said of cooking- if you’re sautéing vegetables, you can go much easier on the salt if cooking with salted butter- because it’s already been added for you;).

A couple years ago I shared a cookie dough fudge recipe that was killer. The first time I made it, I only had salted butter on hand, so that’s what I used. The recipe didn’t specify a butter, so I didn’t think twice. The second time I made it, I only had unsalted butter- I looked at the website and saw that the author had left a comment for someone else, saying she had used unsalted butter. So I figured I would be safe. However, it was so bland! In my personal opinion, the recipe was eons better with salted butter- but that’s not what the recipe called for;).

Ultimately, I think it’s up to personal opinion. I have talked to some people who only use unsalted butter in their baking and cooking. I have talked to others that use salted, but adjust whatever salt the recipe may call for. And there are others (like me;) ), who use salted butter and don’t adjust the salt- because they believe it brings out the flavor;). If I happen to have unsalted butter on hand, sometimes I use that if the recipe calls for it- but honestly, I rarely have it on hand;).

So, what kind of butter consumer are you? Do you use salted or unsalted? Or a little of both? Share your thoughts in the comments below! I’m so curious to hear what you think!