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Unsalted butter

Eggs & dairy · Butter

Unsalted butter

Butter with no added salt, preferred in baking and delicate sauces so the seasoning can be controlled.

Also called: sweet butter

A kind of butter

76 recipes with it

Photo: Matěj Baťha, via Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY-SA-3.0)

What it is

Also called sweet butter, it is the same churned cream fat as ordinary butter (about 80% fat) but without salt. Salt content in salted butter varies between brands, so baking recipes often ask for unsalted and add a measured pinch. Its flavour is cleaner and creamier.

How it’s used

  • Cakes, cookies, pastry and buttercream
  • Beurre blanc and hollandaise
  • Clarifying into ghee or clarified butter
  • Brown-butter sauces and desserts
  • Finishing risotto and pasta

Characteristics

Taste
Sweet, creamy and fresh.
Texture
Firm when cold, waxy-soft at room temperature.
When cooked
Behaves exactly like salted butter in cooking; without salt it may brown a little more evenly and its flavour shows more clearly.
Sold as
fresh
Cooking uses
Commonly cooked, Suitable for baking, Suitable for frying

Storage

Refrigerated. Keep wrapped in the fridge; it absorbs odours and turns stale a little faster than salted butter. Freeze for longer storage.

Diet, allergens and safety

Contains Milk.

  • Vegetarian
  • Vegan
  • Dairy-free
  • Egg-free
  • Gluten-free
  • Nut-free
  • Soy-free
  • Caffeine-free
  • Contains milk (allergen).

Nutrition per 100 g

Energy
717 kcal
Protein
0.85 g
Carbohydrate
0.06 g
Fat
81.11 g
Fibre
0 g
Sugars
0.06 g

USDA FoodData Central: Butter, without salt.

Substitutes

Optional — what works if you don’t have it, and how it changes the dish.

  • Butter — 1:1; reduce added salt in the recipe by about 1/4 tsp per 100 g butter.

Related ingredients

Recipes with unsalted butter

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