Salted Or Unsalted Butter

Asked by amandaoh. Answered on 5th April 2016

Full question

When Nigella's recipes list butter as one of the ingredients, would it normally mean unsalted or salted butter? A very basic question but if it doesn't tell me which type how would I know?

Our answer

For Nigella's recipes if the ingredients list just states "butter" then it means unsalted butter. If the salted variety is needed then it will usually be listed as "salted butter". Nigella has cook's notes in the introduction to her books and here she mentions that she uses unsalted butter, unless salted is specifically specified. The salt content in butters can vary a lot, from 0.7% up to 3% and this can affect the taste of the dish. Many cooks will add salt according to their own preference during cooking, so unsalted butter is more versatile in this respect. For example, Nigella's Salted Caramel Sauce uses unsalted butter and adds salt to taste.

Historically unsalted butter was also fresher than salted butter, as the salt acts as a preservative. However with modern refrigeration and storage and fast turnover in stores and supermarkets this is no longer an issue and the use of unsalted butter allows cooks the flexibility to season to their own taste.