How Much Salt Is in Salted Butter?

Published on Friday, March 6, 2009, by Roxanne Webber / Edit Post

The National Dairy Council (NDC) says that “generally, salted butter contains 1.6–1.7 percent” salt. But it’s up to each company to determine how much it wants to use in its product.

We surveyed the sodium content per tablespoon in a few brands, and the amount varies (note that salt itself has a sodium content of only around 40 percent by weight):

• Kerry Gold: 50 milligrams
• Land O’Lakes: 95 milligrams
• Challenge: 90 milligrams
• Safeway O Organics: 90 milligrams
• Straus: 45 milligrams
• Horizon: 115 milligrams
• Lucerne: 90 milligrams

If sodium in your diet is a concern, buy unsalted butter. If it’s not, then the choice is mostly a matter of taste. Most recipes call for unsalted (or sweet) butter. Also, the shelf life differs between salted and unsalted butter, says the NDC, because the salt acts as a preservative. The NDC says that salted butter can be stored for up to two months in the refrigerator and six to nine months in the freezer, whereas unsalted butter should only be refrigerated for up to two weeks and frozen for up to five months.

Check out these threads to find out how Chowhounds use salted and unsalted butter in their cooking:
Salted Butter Confession
Does anyone else use salted butter when cooking?
Salted Butter

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POST A COMMENT |7 Comments

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  • So, let's convert to teaspoons of salt per 1/4 pound cube of butter.

    Straus:
    45mg Na/T = 112.5mg salt/T = 0.9g salt per 1/4 lb. cube =
    slightly more than 1/8 t salt per 1/4 lb. cube

    Kerrygold:
    50mg Na/T = 125mg salt/T = 1.0g salt per 1/4 lb. cube =
    slightly more than 1/8 t salt per 1/4 lb. cube

    Challenge, Safeway brands (Lucerne and O Organics):
    90mg Na/T = 225mg salt/T = 1.8g salt per 1/4 lb....+READ

    So, let's convert to teaspoons of salt per 1/4 pound cube of butter.

    Straus:
    45mg Na/T = 112.5mg salt/T = 0.9g salt per 1/4 lb. cube =
    slightly more than 1/8 t salt per 1/4 lb. cube

    Kerrygold:
    50mg Na/T = 125mg salt/T = 1.0g salt per 1/4 lb. cube =
    slightly more than 1/8 t salt per 1/4 lb. cube

    Challenge, Safeway brands (Lucerne and O Organics):
    90mg Na/T = 225mg salt/T = 1.8g salt per 1/4 lb. cube =
    slightly more than 1/4 t salt per 1/4 lb. cube

    Land O'Lakes:
    95mg Na/T = 237.5mg salt/T = 1.9g salt per 1/4 lb. cube =
    slightly more than 1/4 t salt per 1/4 lb. cube

    Horizon:
    115mg Na/T = 287mg salt/T = 2.3g salt per 1/4 lb. cube =
    between 1/4 and 3/8 t salt per 1/4 lb. cube

    where,

    Na is Sodium
    T is Tablespoon
    weight of table salt (used in above calculations): 18.25g/T
    and, BTW, the weight of Morton Coarse Kosher Salt (not used in above calculations): 14.7g/T-COLLAPSE

  • 1.6 to 1.7% by weight? or by volume? It must be weight.
    I thought salt was about 3% by volume... so 1 stick (1/4C) of salted butter contains about 3/4 teaspoon of salt.

  • We keep both sweet and salted butter in the house for different purposes. I've been using Kerry Gold's salted butter - one of the reasons I like it is that the salt flavor is subtle and complements but does not dominate the butteriness. I'm not surprised to see its relatively low ranking in the salt content list.

  • so, how much salt should you remove from a baking recipe that requires 1 lb. salt-free butter and 1 tsp. salt... but you use salted butter?

  • Argh! I meant "does NOT go bad"!

  • I agree with taken in principle, but in reality, many producers don't make that distinction any more (at least, not in the US, where butter made from "sweet" (uncultured) cream is the norm). The usage of sweet meaning "not salty" has become ubiquitous.

    The idea that unsalted butter "should only be kept for two weeks in the refrigerator" is ridiculous! For one thing, "should" implies a safety...+READ

    I agree with taken in principle, but in reality, many producers don't make that distinction any more (at least, not in the US, where butter made from "sweet" (uncultured) cream is the norm). The usage of sweet meaning "not salty" has become ubiquitous.

    The idea that unsalted butter "should only be kept for two weeks in the refrigerator" is ridiculous! For one thing, "should" implies a safety concern, which there isn't -- butter does "go bad" in that sense. It will diminish in quality, but unless you're very sensitive and/or are using it in dishes without any other seasonings, most people won't notice a difference. If it's really rancid, you can tell, and I don't think I've ever had butter go rancid in the fridge, only when it's left out on the counter too long.

    Hey, butter is expensive -- I don't want people throwing it out unnecessarily!-COLLAPSE

  • just to clear things up, sweet butter isn't necessarily unsalted butter, its just butter that is made with 'sweet' cream i.e. not sour cream.