Baking with Butter Basics
Blog Entry: Thursday 25 Mar 2010
A recipe often simply calls for butter, but with both salted and unsalted varieties of butter available, which one is best?
The general rule is that unsalted butter should be used with seafood and in baking because its delicate flavour brings out the best in these types of dishes. But if you only have salted in the fridge, don’t worry, the two can be used interchangeably without too much difference in the final taste.
If you’re looking to get the maximum flavour out of your butter, then heat it before using. Heat releases the natural flavour compounds letting butter develop that full, rich taste that we all love.
Recipes also often call for a “stick of butter”, but what exactly does that mean? Bear in mind some basic butter stick conversions so that such a recipe never puts you off again:
4 sticks = 2 cups = 1 pound
2 sticks = 1 cup = 1/2 pound
1 stick = 1/2 cup = 1/4 pound
1/2 stick = 1/4 cup = 4 tablespoons
Alternatively, when being asked to add a “knob of butter” this loosely translates into two or three tablespoons.
Do you have any tips for baking with butter? Please share them with us!
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