Butter: salted vs. unsalted
Posted by Gina on Jul 20, 2009
Why is it necessary to use unsalted butter in some baking recipes? I am baking scones and have no unsalted butter. Will they be “not so good” with “regular” butter? Thank you very much! -Shelley
Your scones will be just as good, if not better, when using salted butter! I personally always bake with salted butter. I like to butter my bread with salted butter, so I buy just the one kind. Salt enhances the flavor of baked goods. The recipes that call for unsalted butter are following the rules by keeping sweet things sweet, but you may have noticed that most baking recipes almost always call for a teaspoon or so of salt. If salt were not used, the flavor would be unbalanced and a tad too sweet. You may want to eliminate (or cut in half) the teaspoon of salt called for in the recipe if you are using salted butter. But to be honest, most of the time when I bake I add the salt and use salted butter and I get good results.
Condensed vs. Evaporated?
Posted by Gina on Oct 31, 2008
What’s the difference between condensed milk and evaporated milk? Can I substitute coconut milk for either of these? -Carmen
Condensed milk is often called sweetened condensed milk and it is milk that has been evaporated and sweetened. Evaporated milk is just that with no sweetener added. Note that evaporated milk does have some sweetness to it because of the concentration of the natural lactose sugar.
Since these milks are not to be used interchangeably, substituting with coconut milk may be tricky. I would try using coconut milk in place of evaporated milk but not sweetened condensed milk. Although coconut milk is rich and thick, it does not have the same thickness or sweetness as evaporated milk. But I have never tried this substitution before so I am not certain. I think it the difference in the end product would be the texture and the flavor, which could possibly be superior. Now I am curious.