<p>I am confused by recipes that specify unsalted butter, then list up to 1/2 teaspoon salt in the ingredients. I always use salted butter and have never noticed a salty taste to cookies.</p>
<p>This year’s lineup:</p>
<p>German spekulatius cookies (better known as Holland windmill cookies) first time attempt.</p>
<p>Gingerbread cookies- all time favorite, crispy and long lasting</p>
<p>Russian tea cakes made with pecans and Irish butter…drool…</p>
<p>Hershey’s brownie recipe with added chocolate chunks cooked in mini muffin tins- good edge to center ratio.</p>
<p>And the annual Yule log, sponge with home grown raspberry jelly filling/chocolate buttercream icing and meringue ‘mushrooms’. So glad pasteurized egg whites are easy to find now.</p>
<p>I always use unsalted because that’s what’s in the house. </p>
<p>So far I’ve made:
Ginger cookies (they’ve got molasses and corn syrup)
almond refrigerator cookie (cinnamon is the main flavor)
a really buttery thumbprint cookie (half strawberry half blackberry jam)
a coconut/brown sugar bar (good but not terribly coconut-y)</p>
<p>Will be making crescent cookies (ground almonds, powdered sugar) and sugar cookies to decorate soon.</p>
<p>Dh has made baklava twice already (second time we sprinkled alternating squares with red and green sugar)</p>
<p>I use unsalted butter for everything. Once you get used to less salt, then the older recipes tend to be overly salty, so I end up cutting the salt in many recipes. </p>
<p>Baklava! I forgot I wanted to try that this year. We have a Lebanese friend that makes it by rolling the fillo into cigar shapes vs. layering it. The result is a bit drier and flakey. I’ll make a point to buy unsalted butter this time, too bad they don’t sell it at Costco where I usually pick up the butter.</p>
<p>here’s the technical:
Salt will strengthen the gluten in flour.
I don’t think the amount of salt in butter makes that much difference.
For flakey stuff use salted.
For cookies, cakes, etc use unsalted. </p>
<p>I want to try making Baklava.
I use salted butter. I am not much of a sweet eater but love salty food. I don’t find the baked goods to taste overly salty.
We don’t celebrate Christmas but I did make Rugelah dough today with salted butter.</p>
<p>Some nice person on a cooking thread converted the amount of salt in various brands to teaspoons/cube. So if the average recipe uses 1/2 lb butter, the salt content will vary between 1/4 and 1/2 teaspoon depending on brand; about what is usually used in a recipe. It was also stated that salted butter lasts longer in the refrigerator, and that butter stores well frozen. I always find the taste is a bit “off” after freezing, but perhaps I just need to insulate it better.</p>
<p>So, let’s convert to teaspoons of salt per 1/4 pound cube of butter.</p>
<p>Straus:
45mg Na/T = 112.5mg salt/T = 0.9g salt per 1/4 lb. cube =
slightly more than 1/8 t salt per 1/4 lb. cube</p>
<p>Kerrygold:
50mg Na/T = 125mg salt/T = 1.0g salt per 1/4 lb. cube =
slightly more than 1/8 t salt per 1/4 lb. cube</p>
<p>Challenge, Safeway brands (Lucerne and O Organics):
90mg Na/T = 225mg salt/T = 1.8g salt per 1/4 lb. cube =
slightly more than 1/4 t salt per 1/4 lb. cube</p>
<p>Land O’Lakes:
95mg Na/T = 237.5mg salt/T = 1.9g salt per 1/4 lb. cube =
slightly more than 1/4 t salt per 1/4 lb. cube</p>
<p>Horizon:
115mg Na/T = 287mg salt/T = 2.3g salt per 1/4 lb. cube =
between 1/4 and 3/8 t salt per 1/4 lb. cube</p>
<p>where, </p>
<p>Na is Sodium
T is Tablespoon
weight of table salt (used in above calculations): 18.25g/T
and, BTW, the weight of Morton Coarse Kosher Salt (not used in above calculations): 14.7g/T-</p>
<p>By Aquila della Notte on April 2, 2010 07:48 AM</p>
<p>And I followed the suggestions by “Elena” - the second review at the bottom of the page. She suggests making 1 and 1/2 the honey mixture - I did and used most of it. If you use only the amount that the original recipe calls for your baklava may be a little dry - unless you like it that way! (also, while it seems that you have WAY too much honey mixture when you pour it, you need to give it time to absorb - like overnight). I also recommend making the honey mixture first and cooling it, then pouring it over the “hot from the oven” baklava.</p>
<p>Grew up in Europe, where butter is unsalted. That’s the only kind of butter I use for baking (and I bake a fair amount) cooking and everyday eating.</p>
<p>I use both, depending on what I am doing and/or eating it with. I prefer unsalted for all baking, for some cooking (Indian in particular) and for eating on bread with radishes or cucumbers. I prefer salted for popcorn, eating plain on bread and for some kinds of cooking.</p>
<p>I bought some Plugra for the holiday. I just love good butter and it’s my own little Christmas treat. This morning H was making toast for himself and I reminded that we have yummy French butter in the fridge, so enjoy. I came downstairs and he was in heaven. “The white French butter”, he said, “made ALL the difference in the world.” I looked at package on the table and discovered that he had spread Crisco (that comes in the butter stick size) on his toast. White Fench butter indeed!</p>
<p>The shelf life of salted butter is considerably longer than that of unsalted. If I want salted butter, I buy fresh butter and salt it myself.</p>
<p>Since buying a Blendtec blender, I have learned how to make butter from whipping cream. The difference between that butter and store-bought butter is absolutely amazing.</p>
<p>@MM- think of the $ you can save buying Crisco instead of French butter! My H once spread raw Farmer John’s pork sausage on his bread an ate it “because it was on the same shelf as the breakfast spreads”. </p>
<p>I need to look more carefully for unsalted butter at Costco.</p>