Unsalted butter is excellent for baking where salt needs to be used in precise measurements. It is just cream and little else, and considered the purest form of butter.

Any recipe that requires you to be tight-fisted with salt is where salted butter may not work. It's best slathered on foods like pancakes, bread, and corn.

Cultured butter has a high content of butterfat, which makes for flaky pies and croissants. Cultured butter has a uniquely rich and tangy flavor and is easily spreadable.

American butter needs to be 80 percent butterfat to meet USDA guidelines. European butter is in the 82 to 90 percent range, which makes it extra creamy and flavorful.

Irish butter is similar to European butter, but multiple factors, inducing climate and the diet of Irish cows, gives the butter a sweet flavor and bright golden-yellow color.