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Salted vs. Unsalted Butter
Cooking tips from the Quaker Kitchen
Which is better to use when cooking, salted butter or unsalted butter?
About Butter
Butter is a dairy product. It is produced by first separating cream from milk, and then churning
the cream until the fat separates from the liquid. The fat, or butter, is then separated and collected
from the
liquid and then moulded or compressed together.
The remaining liquid is known as buttermilk.
Butter Facts
Regular butter is 80 percent fat and 20 percent milk solids and water.
It takes cream from about 11 quarts of milk to make one pound of butter.
Butter sold in most stores comes from cow milk. But, butter, like cheese, can also be
made from
other animal milks. At the Quaker Kitchen, we make butter and cheese from goat milk, sheep milk and
even horse milk.
Butter color. It should be noted that home made butter is not the same color as most store bought
butter. Commercially produced butter has coloring added to it which gives it a bright commercial
yellow color. The color of naturally produced butter ranges from soft white to light
yellow. The color of butter is determined by the time of the year
because the diet of the animal from which milk is collected from may vary with the seasons.
The finest, sweet cream
butter we produce in the Quaker Kitchen is during the spring and summer months
when the pastures
are green, lush and rich for our free ranging goats and sheep to graze in. That is when our home made
butter is at its best!
As shown in the photo above, commercially produced butter is graded by a letter code,
and sometimes even
a numerical number which "grades" the flavor, texture, and body of butter.
AA equals a 93 score, A is a 92 score,
and B is a 90 score.
Good butter is important to the success of good cooking. Thus, it is important to know the difference
between salted and unsalted butter. In the Quaker Kitchen, we use commercially produced butter from time to time.
When we do buy butter from the store, we always purchase and use unsalted butter
for cooking and for table use. We use unsalted butter for several reasons.
1. Cooking with unsalted butter allow you to accurately
regulate the amount of total salt being used in a food recipe.
This is especially helpful for people on a low salt diet.
2. Unsalted butter has a shorter shelf life than salted butter does because salt is a preservative. So, it is often
a fresher product than unsalted butter might be.
3. Salted butter does not have the same delicate sweet creamy butter flavor that unsalted butter
has due to the added salt which masks butter flavor.
4. Because salt is a preservative which changes the over all taste of butter, older milk can be, and usually is,
used to make salted butter. Add to that fact that the shelf life of salted butter
is longer, salted butter may not be as fresh as unsalted butter. Unsalted butter is
made with
fresh cream from fresh milk - it has to be because salt will not be added to the butter to further
preserve it and mask low quality taste. Unsalted butter, with its shorter shelf life
(in the refrigerator) has a superior taste and quality.
5. Consider how much salt is in salted butter vs unsalted butter.
The amount of salt added to salted butter can vary between butter brands, but it can be as much
as 3/4 of a teaspoon per stick or 3 percent. Given the fact that
salted butter and unsalted butter usually costs about the same per pound, why pay so much more for
salt?
6. It is best to use unsalted butter in baking because the glutens in flour are toughened by salt.
Tips about using butter
Be sure to check the expiration date on the package before you purchase butter to
ensure it is
as fresh as possible.
Recipes that call for "butter at room temperature" means that butter has
been set out on the
counter
for at least 45 minutes, so that
the butter will give easily but slightly when you press it with your finger. Room temperature
Butter is around 68 degrees F (19 degrees C).
Do not use a microwave to warm butter to room temperature.
You can substitute unsalted butter for salted butter in a cooking
recipe in the same measure.
"The Lord bless thee and keep thee...."
- Numbers 6:24
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