question about butter

[Natalie]

I found a recipe on one of the low-carb links, it's called "Smothered chicken" It calls for the veggies to be cooked with "no salt butter". I don't have any of that. Does it make a huge difference? Anyone have any ideas?
thanks
Natalie

[Scotsman]

Can't see it making any difference if you were to use "normal butter". I use lightly salted butter all the time in my cooking and have never hit any snags.

Other than a slight difference in taste the only advantage in no-salt butter would be that you would be cutting back a bit in your daily salt intake. The sodium part of salt is a health concern to those with high blood pressure and that might me important to some folks.

I'm no expert, but you have my best guess anyway.

Yours aye, Scotsman :daze:

[razzle]

all the fancy schmancy TV chefs love the unsalted butter. Their reasoning? you get to control the amount of salt in your dish better. Makes little sense to me (one just allows for the salt in the butter!) and I suspect it's an in-group thing...be cool and do what the great chefs do, it's the in-thing this decade. ;)

Since unsalted butter does not move off the shelves as quickly, I suspect the salted stuff is fresher.

[Natalie]

thanks for the info! Every little bit helps on the way to glory!
natalie

[IslandGirl]

Well, actually, lots of non-fancy-shmancy cooks use both unsalted and regular butter.

In Canada, there's always a small selection of unsalted butters right next to the regular butter (and just over from the margarine and the shortenings). The shelf turnover is controlled because there is a much smaller amount on the shelf (and the best before date is going to be shorter as well). If we can get it in just about any large grocery store here, I suspect it's easy to find in the States and maybe Australia as well.

Salt is added as a preservative, so actually the salted butter is likely to have been on the shelf a lot longer.

The salt does change the taste of the butter, as well, and that salt is not always welcome in a dish that may have other ingredients where you CAN'T remove the salt or just add less (like a dish with parmesan in or on it, which can be very salty, or pork rinds, VERY salty). It's used in a lot of desserts, too.

If you want to know what butter is harder to find, try looking for Cultured Butter... :D

[Karen]

Another reason for unsalted butter? Unsalted butter has more butter and less water as salt holds water. That's why it's a bit more expensive. Unsalted butter is fresher, sweeter in flavour and more "buttery". You never know how old salted butter is.

Karen

[clwydd]

Give unsalted a try; it really does taste better. Because it doesn't keep as well, unsalted butter is often kept with the frozen foods (look in the section with the frozen pie shells). I used to have to get it there all the time, but Superstore (in Canada) now has a President's Choice cultured butter, salted and unsalted, in 250-g blocks, and it's in with the regular butter.

Susan