Unsalted butter

simply simple

I have found that we don't have any options for unsalted butter in market except avonmore unsalted butter. I don't want lard margarine, etc for baking as i love the taste and richness of butter in baked recipes and pastas. any idea why is it so that we don't have any options and why there is only one brand that sell unsalted butter.

Honey-ec

simply simple wrote: »

I have found that we don't have any options for unsalted butter in market except avonmore unsalted butter. I don't want lard margarine, etc for baking as i love the taste and richness of butter in baked recipes and pastas. any idea why is it so that we don't have any options and why there is only one brand that sell unsalted butter.

Where are you looking? My supermarket has about 4 different types of unsalted butter.

simply simple

Honey-ec wrote: »

Where are you looking? My supermarket has about 4 different types of unsalted butter.

I usually go to tesco for grocery shopping.where do you shop? and are other brands of unsalted butter cheaper than that of avonmore?

shrapnel222

simply simple wrote: »

I usually go to tesco for grocery shopping.where do you shop? and are other brands of unsalted butter cheaper than that of avonmore?

Tesco sell President unsalted butter. so much nicer than avonmore. slightly more expensive though.

tina turner

Polish butter is unsalted, you'll find it at polish section in tesco
looks like this:

http://www.wrotapodlasia.pl/pl/region/podlaska_marka_roku/edycja_2008/smak/Maslo_Polskie.htm

or like this:

http://www.eurosklep24.eu/product.php?id_product=6845

I love it,so creamy

simply simple

shrapnel222 wrote: »

Tesco sell President unsalted butter. so much nicer than avonmore. slightly more expensive though.

ya u r right, i saw president brand but that is expensive, but still in todays worl of retailing only 2 brands to compare within? not so favourable for customers, isint it? I need to see some cheaper options.

simply simple

tina turner wrote: »

Polish butter is unsalted, you'll find it at polish section in tesco
looks like this:

http://www.wrotapodlasia.pl/pl/region/podlaska_marka_roku/edycja_2008/smak/Maslo_Polskie.htm

or like this:

http://www.eurosklep24.eu/product.php?id_product=6845

I love it,so creamy

Is that real butter? good to know this. I will definitely have a look during my next shopping trip

MissFlitworth

simply simple wrote: »

but still in todays worl of retailing only 2 brands to compare within?

It's probably because Irish tastes run to salted butter & we don't really use that much unsalted butter(compared with the millions who buy salted butter for eating & not baking or who use salted butter in baking). When comparatively few people buy a product you're unlikely to get cheap options for it. Also butter just isn't cheap no matter whether it's salted or unsalted

Tesco do an organic unsalted butter



and Marks & Spencer also have an own brand unsalted butter

hardCopy

Mmmm, salt

phormium

They sell very little, that's why there are not loads of brands and it's quite a bit more expensive than salted butter.

simply simple

Is there any special reason why unsalted butter is more expensive than that of the salted butter? not because of low cunsumption but is there a different process involved to produce salted and unsalted butter? or they just add salt after producing unsalted butter?:D I sounded silly, isin't it? but still i would like to ask this crazy question :P any answers that help my query may help my knowledge bank for sure

phormium

I actually asked a rep for a well known producer that question at a food fair I was at. You would think it would be cheaper as they are leaving out an ingredient! Turns out you can buy the unsalted in bulk, 20kg or something like that, for the same price as the salted but he said to produce the small packets of a lesser amount costs more than making the huge amounts of salted that they do so individual price packs are dearer. That was his explanation anyway.

jester77

My local supermarket sells salted and unsalted Kerrygold.

Don't you have that in Ireland too?

rubadub

phormium wrote: »

You would think it would be cheaper as they are leaving out an ingredient!

Salt is cheaper than butter per gram. But I imagine salt preserves it better so its easier to store & move around, like tinned fruits can be cheaper than fresh. I wonder if the BB dates differ much.

Its probably mainly lack of demand though, UHT milk is not particularly cheap here while in other countries there would be huge price differences

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pBwwcU2c3u4

kerrygold shows as 2% salt max. Does the salt really effect baking a lot? I would imagine it doesn't matter too much in some recipes.

just searching now.

Salt is a preservative, and salted butter can last two to three months longer in the refrigerator than unsalted butter. So this actually means that salted butter is often much less fresh than unsalted, and sometimes has been made from cream that is less fresh as well.

Overall, it's best to buy and use only unsalted butter for cooking and baking, especially since you can't even reliably determine how much salt is in any given stick. Ochef gives an estimate of as much as 3/4 teaspoon can be in a stick of salted butter, but this varies depending on brand and place of origin.

So you're better off with unsalted, except for your morning toast and muffin. To keep it fresh longer, you can always store it in the freezer.

http://www.thekitchn.com/salted-butter-v-18008

The simple answer is that yes, it is fine to use salted butter in baking. That being said, there is a reason that bakers – myself included – and just about all other cooks use unsalted butter as their kitchen staple instead of salted.

Salt serves two roles in butter, acting as a preservative and as a flavoring agent. Since refrigeration is so reliable these days, the vast majority of us don’t need to give butter spoilage a second thought (especially if you go through it quickly in baking!), so flavor is paramount. Salted butter tastes great on toast and in other foods because the salt will bring out not only the butter flavor, but the other flavors of whatever you’re eating. In fact, you probably won’t need to add salt at all, if you’re using salted butter in your cooking, and this is exactly why salted butter is not idea for baking.

Baked goods, especially that require some leavening, often count on the inclusion of salt to enhance flavor and to ensure the best rise (from cookies, muffins, breads, etc) possible. But recipes tend to specify a small amount of salt in their ingredients and this is where salted butter falls short: you can’t control the amount of salt that is in the butter. Omitting the salt called for and using salted butter might turn out a result that is just right, but your dish might not have enough salt in that case. The opposite extreme is that your dish might have way too much salt in it, since salted butters can contain anywhere from 1/4-3/4 tsp of salt per half cup.

Odds are, whatever you’re making will probably turn out just fine if you use salted butter, but the risk of getting something a little funky is there – and it isn’t when you stick with unsalted and have absolute control over the amount of salt you use. I’d recommend sticking with unsalted for baking and saving salted for cooking (where flavors are easily forgiven/altered with other spices) or spreading on really good bread.

http://bakingbites.com/2007/11/can-i-use-salted-butter-for-baking/

Mrs Fox

jester77 wrote: »

My local supermarket sells salted and unsalted Kerrygold.

Don't you have that in Ireland too?

Oh wow I've never come across Kerrygold unsalted before.

phormium

I use ordinary salted butter in all baking, the only thing I use unsalted for is plain buttercream, if the buttercream is to have a strong flavour added like chocolate then I use salted, it's simply much cheaper but I do think if you are having a plain or lightly flavoured buttercream that unsalted makes a nicer one.