I use Kirkland signature unsalted butter for normal cooking, but I keep some salted Kerrygold for eating. My wife hates that stuff and buttes her toast with the unsalted butter.
You should try the salted variant. It’s a hair saltier than normal American butter, and it’s stellar on things like fresh bread.
My understanding is that unsalted butter is “better” (at least in a restaurant) because salt is a preservative, so the unsalted stuff has to be fresh; the salted stuff can sit around for longer.
As for me, if I’m in a nice restaurant and they serve unsalted butter and rolls, I find it heavenly. I’ve always assumed that the reason the butter is so delicious is not literally because it lacks salt, but because it is so fresh.
But as to what I purchase, whether for eating or baking, I go straight to the salted, because I tend to buy in quantity and use it up slowly. I don’t even adjust recipes that call for unsalted butter; I find the difference negligible.
Although there is one brownie recipe I make that I find comes out a bit salty; next time I make it I’ll think about reducing the salt when I use salted butter.
On the other hand, salty-sweet is a nice combo, and quite popular right now with all the “salted caramel” flavored products on the market. With respect to the brownies, I’ve made note of the saltiness and decided it’s a feature, not a bug.
Since last replying to this thread in May or so, Vermont Creamery’s butters have become my go-tos. They’ve grown significantly on me. I’ve mostly been an unsalted butter kind of guy, but I’ve also drifted to the salted butters in that time. The amount of salt in butter is generally fairly negligible in a recipe, so I only barely adjust the difference, if at all. Of the commonly available butters where I’m at, that’s what I go for, or just President. I’ve been keeping my eyes peeled for Bordier, but I haven’t found it yet.
This sounds implausible to me. Butter is not the kind of thing that sits around in a restaurant. They go through it fast and source it direct, I can’t fathom a scenario where the salted stuff is lingering compared to unsalted.
Also, I’d be utterly shocked to find a chef at a reputable restaurant serving unsalted butter at the table with bread. In my experience it’s just not done, perhaps this is a regional thing but unsalted butter in the States has preservatives added which foodies would tend to aggressively avoid.
Admittedly I have not lived most of my adult life in the US, but I assure you I have had exceptionally wonderful unsalted butter in restaurants in many countries. The taste difference is very clear, and fresh unsalted butter is amazing.