Does it really matter? if so, why?
In baking, it matters for the overall salt level in the recipe. A typical stick of salted butter has about 1/4 teaspoon of salt. So if your recipe calls for two sticks (ie a cup) of unsalted butter and one teaspoon of salt, you can use salted butter and reduce the salt to 1/2 a teaspoon. A lot of serious bakers recommend only using unsalted butter so you control exactly how much salt you’re adding.
Direct from the mouth of my French brother-in-law: “Why does unsalted butter even exist?”
I don’t see the point of it at all, other than to use on toast with a diner breakfast. Under what circumstances would I prefer someone other than me to salt my food?
Don’t you rely on the chef to salt your food any time you eat at a restaurant or in someone’s home?
I thought it was obvious that I was referring to food I prepare myself, what with the whole “in recipes” title of the thread, but I guess not. So please mentally add that phrase to my previous post.
Different dairies put different amounts of salt in salted butter. Straus, the brand I normally buy, has 45 mg per tablespoon, which works out to .36 gram per four-ounce stick, which is more like 1/8 teaspoon.
People originally salted butter to preserve it before the era of refrigeration. If you don’t go through a pound in a month or two, you might freeze part of it.
So you can have the texture of Maldon salt on your buttered baguette.
People who get serious about cooking need to control their salt addition tightly… I ballpark everything so I don’t care
Unsalted vs. salted butter doesn’t make a significant difference when you’re seasoning to taste.
Which is generally not the case when you’re baking.