Can You Use Unsalted Butter in Recipes That Call for Salted Butter?

Question

Most of your recipes call for  salted butter; I only have unsalted butter.  What adjustments to make with salting  food?  It seems most current recipes and cook books from other sources call for unsalted.  Why do you feel salted is better?  Thanks!

Lynn Clark · Accepted Answer

Many chefs and bakers believe that using unsalted butter will allow you to control the salt content in your dishes better than using salted butter. But we've tested salted versus unsalted butter in a number of savory and baking recipes and we didn’t find any measurable difference between the two. The small amount of salt in salted butter (it's about 1/4 teaspoon per stick, depending on the brand) is undetectable when cooked or baked in a recipe, we found.
Still, we have a preference between the two. Though most culinary professionals and publications will recommend using unsalted butter, we prefer the salted kind because it tastes better when you’re not cooking with it. Unsalted butter doesn’t cut it on toast! Since we prefer to stick with one kind, salted butter is our choice. It also has a longer shelf life. So if you don’t go through butter at a fast rate, buying salted butter is a good idea.
You can certainly still use unsalted butter in our recipes if you prefer. You just may need to adjust the salt to your personal tastes. You can also see this discussion for more details from Chris on why he prefers salted butter and, more specifically, the why he prefers European-style butters.
Best, The Milk Street Team

Can You Use Unsalted Butter in Recipes That Call for Salted Butter?

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