unsalted butter for cooking/baking

ostrichnomore_2

Now I've got an oven again for the first time in years I'm very tempted to start baking a few cakes and nice things. Haven't baked for about 10 years.

Now, all recipes seem to state unsalted butter.

But I'm sure that in the past I grabbed any old butter out of the fridge, which would have been salted. Even for buttercream etc, never mind the actual cakes themselves.

Does it really make any difference? Or is my memory wrong and I would have bought unsalted specially?

tanith

As most recipes even for sweet cakes have a pinch of salt in the ingredients I just use whatever I have in the fridge, butter wise (unsalted butter tastes like lard to me I rarely buy it) and omit the salt. They don't taste any different to me..

hauxwell

I always use salted butter as its the only kind we buy.

seabright

I always use salted butter tOo. Cakes always get eaten - so must be fine!

BTW, I find Waitrose butter cheapest, as their own brand comes in 500g packs which are cheaper than 2 Sainsbury's Basic butters.

Fruball

I've no intention of buying unsalted butter for anything!

Salted has worked for my previous 40 years and I doubt that will change!

ostrichnomore_2

Thanks, I thought so, but wondered if my memory was deceiving me...

meritaten

it really doesn't make any difference as far as I can find! I just use whichever butter was cheapest!

jackyann

Theoretically salted melts at a different temperature and if you are melting it, can leave a residue of salt.
I tend to use unsalted in cooking, but I don't worry about using salted if that is all I have, especially in baking.
I find it makes a difference in a few dishes where I am frying at a high temperature: I have delicious liver recipe that calls for flash frying in unsalted butter - if I use salted the residue burns.

meg72

I just buy whatever is cheapest, dont think I have ever bought unsalted.

candlelight_2013

I only ever buy salted butter, and usually the cheapest I can find for baking, and I have never had a problem.

Seakay

the only time I use unsalted is if I've made it from whoopsied cream!

I tend to think I'm being quite extravagant if I use butter not marg; i think that any sort is ok; if you have diners with v sensitive palates then as a general rule then the cheaper the butter the more salty it is but I really can't tell the difference except sometimes in butter cream