pltrgyst wrote:

> On Mon, 28 Aug 2006 09:57:55 -0400, "Bob (this one)" > wrote:
>
>> Harold McGee has written about it in the revised and updated
>> edition of "On Food and Cooking." He says, generalizing,
>> that butters made in the U.S. have between 1% and 2% salt,
>> rounded figures. That would, at the extreme ends of that
>> range, be between one and two teaspoons per pound. That is
>> between 1/4 and 1/2 teaspoon per stick of butter. 1/32 of a
>> teaspoon or 1/64 of a teaspoon of salt per tablespoon
>> butter. The "highly variable" range is 1/32 of a teaspoon of
>> salt.
>
> Bob,
>
> I'm not a baker, but I do cook a lot.

I did in all my restaurants and in my functions as a
research chef, as well. I still do as a consultant, recipe
designer, and food writer. I formulate recipes for
commercial products ranging from salad dressings, through
seasoned oils and vinegars, to preserves, fruit juice curds,
baked goods, and detailed restaurant menu offerings. Many of
them use butter.

> For the things that I prepare, such as
> sauces, I'm more likely to be concerned about the results of using a stick of
> butter (0.25 lb.) or more than those that use a pat. For those cases, yes, I
> would think that 1/4 to 1/2 tsp is "highly variable."

Puhleeze. You take numbers used as generalizations to
illustrate the extremes of the *rounded* range as exact
figures. Bad form.

It's unfortunate that you delete the actual calculations to
make your point. And that you seem to gloss the real and
demonstrated statements that say that butter in the U.S.
contains about 1.25 teaspoons salt per pound per label
requirements.

And if you're using a whole stick of butter in a sauce, the
total volume should be very easily able to absorb the salt
of the butter as a flavoring agent, virtually no matter what
sauce it is. Monter au beurre takes very little butter and
the flavor essentially disappears, so I have to assume
you're talking about maybe Hollandaise or Bearnaise or other
butter-based sauces. I defy anyone to tell the difference
between salted and unsalted in a quart of Hollandaise. The
salted might taste a tiny bit better. Maybe.

But when it's all said and done, you're guessing since you
say you don't use salted butter.

> For recipes using a pat or two, I'd agree with you that it's negligible.

I haven't seen anything to support that "highly variable"
assertion beyond, well, the assertion. The calculations I
offered with chemical analysis say exactly the opposite.
It's not nice to cherry pick for debate points.

> BTW, thanks for all the posted information.

Use it in good health. We're done here, I think.

Pastorio