popcorn salt REALLY does cut down on the sweetness of buttercream icing. I have to admit, I've used salt in my icings but I just wasn't really convinced that it made that much if any difference at all in cutting down the sweetness. Well, today, I made two batches of icing. Both had the exact ingredients with the exception of one of them in which I added 1 tsp of popcorn salt dissolved in a small amt of hot water. When I tasted the two icings, I knew that one was a lot less sweet than the other. But, to make sure, I had my hubby take a taste from each batch. I then asked him if they both tasted the same and he said NO. He pointed to the batch with no salt and said that it was alot sweeter than the other Now, if he noticed a difference, I know that I was correct. Popcorn salt really does help cut down the sweetness.......

You've convinced me to give it a try!

Could you taste the salt in it?

Hummm.. this is VERY interesting.

WOW! I've got to try this! Thanks for sharing!

Just one more thing to add to my shopping list.

Thanks for sharing that piece of info. with us.

Just know that if you are going to be using purple/lavender colorings....the salt will affect the color of your icings.

Thanks for the tip for the popcorn salt.

Have a great day!
aliekitn99

I use unflavored popcorn salt in every batch of my icing and I have never had a problem with purple/lavendar/violet colors. What is it supposed to do?

Thanks for the info. I'll have to try this.

I give this tip to all my students ...about the popcorn salt,

since it's a finer salt you won't have the 'crunchies" that regular salt gives you

I can never find popcorn salt at the grocery store. Should it be with the rest of the spices?

try looking where the popping corn is.

I have trouble finding it sometimes, too. You can put regular table salt in the food processor if you don't have popcorn salt.

Thanks RisqueBusiness!

I have used table salt just the way it is and not ground it finer and you could not tell that the salt was in it.

Thanks for the info!

shelbur10, thanks for answering my question before I even got to post it!

Fantastic tip! Thanks for being our 'lab tech' !

I performed the experiment as well. I could not tell a difference...but my husband could. He said the salted was not as sweet...maybe my taste buds have been numbed by all the frosting I have consumed!

Also what I do with the cream cheese buttercream I put one bar of unsalted butter and one bar of salted butter, and that also helps to make the buttercream less sweet and always turns out great!!!

Have to try the popcorn salt!!!

I only use popcorn salt too! It works great and really does help with the sweetness.

Thanks for sharing! I'll give it a try.

I also have always used popcorn salt in my buttercream. I find it right next to the regular salt in the seasonings/bakers aisle of the grocery store, but it could be with the bags of popping corn! I use enough so I can purposely taste the salt.....not overwhelmingly taste the salt, but just a hint! It's delicious!

I use popcorn salt in my BC, MMF and caramel.

For those of you who use popcorn salt, do you use salted or unsalted butter? I usually use unsalted butter, but I only had salted today. I added my usual popcorn salt and I can taste it today.

We always have popcorn salt on hand because DH uses it on popcorn. Recently, I couldn't find my normal brand (Reese) and bought a different brand (Morton's, I think). DH commented on the odd taste. I noticed that there was an additional ingredient besides salt. I don't recall what it was, but I'm guessing something to keep the salt from caking. Wonder if that added ingredient is what causes the icing to spot?

ETA--I just googled Morton's popcorn salt....the extra ingredient is Tricalcium Phosphate, used to give a free-flowing quality.

I would like to know about the salted vs unsalted butter also. I will have to try the popcorn salt but I usually use the unsalted butter. If I used the salted would that make a difference?