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Ingredient

Salted keeps its flavor built in; unsalted lets you decide how much.

Salted keeps its flavor built in; unsalted lets you decide how much.

butter

Also known as: melted butter

A dairy fat churned from cream, used both as a cooking fat and a flavoring; salted and unsalted versions are both common, with unsalted preferred for baking so you control salt precisely.

Buying guidance

Unsalted, so you control the seasoning rather than the brand; any brand does. Stirred into a sauce or stew off the heat, butter rounds off acidity and gives the surface a slight gloss.

Substitutions

  • Salted butter -- use it, but taste before adding any further salt.
  • A dairy-free butter alternative -- works acceptably.
  • Omit -- the dish is fine without it, just less rounded.

Tips & common mistakes

Salted and unsalted aren't a straight swap without adjusting a recipe's own added salt, since brands vary in how much they include; for pastry or biscuits, keep it cold and firm right up until baking, since softened butter won't hold the small solid pieces that create flaky layers once oven heat hits them.

Storage

Keep it wrapped in its original paper or foil rather than sitting uncovered in a butter dish, since it readily absorbs other odors in the refrigerator; unlike most dairy, it freezes for months with barely any loss in quality.

Used in 46 recipes