Wisconsin Administrative Code
Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection
ATCP 55-89 - Food, Lodging, and Recreation Safety
Chapter ATCP 85 - Butter Grading And Labeling
Section ATCP 85.04 - Butter characteristics; intensity of characteristics
Universal Citation: WI Admin Code ยง ATCP 85.04
Current through February 26, 2024
(1) BUTTER CHARACTERISTICS.
(a)
Flavor
characteristics. For grading purposes, the flavor of a sample of
butter shall be based upon the presence or absence of one or more of the
following characteristics, organoleptically determined by taste and smell:
1. "Acid" means the butter lacks a delicate
flavor or aroma and is associated with a lactic acid condition, which is
present other than as a result of the use of a lactic acid producing culture,
but there is no indication of sourness.
2. "Aged" means the butter is characterized
by lack of freshness.
3. "Bitter"
means the butter has an astringent effect, similar to the taste of quinine, and
produces a puckery sensation.
4.
"Coarse" means the butter lacks a fine, delicate, smooth flavor.
5. "Cooked" means a smooth, nutty-like
character resembling a custard flavor.
6. "Culture" means a slightly acid aromatic
flavor, characteristic of a lactic acid producing culture.
7. "Feed" means an aromatic flavor
characteristic of the feeds eaten by cows.
8. "Flat" means the absence or lack of a
natural butter flavor.
9. "Malty"
means a distinctive, harsh flavor suggestive of malt.
10. "Musty" means a flavor which is
suggestive of the aroma of a damp vegetable cellar.
11. "Neutralizer" means a flavor suggestive
of bicarbonate of soda or the flavor of similar alkaline compounds.
12. "Old Cream" means a flavor of aged cream
characterized by lack of freshness, and which imparts a rough aftertaste on the
tongue.
13. "Scorched" means an
intensified flavor more distinct than "coarse", and which imparts a harsh
aftertaste suggestive of excessive heating.
14. "Smothered" means a bland flavor
suggestive of improperly cooling the cream prior to churning.
15. "Storage" means a flavor characterized by
lack of freshness and more intensified than "aged" flavor.
16. "Utensil" means a flavor suggestive of
unclean utensils and equipment.
17.
"Weed" means an aromatic flavor characteristic of the weeds eaten by
cows.
18. "Whey" means a flavor or
aroma characteristic of the acid development of cheese whey.
(b)
Body
characteristics. For grading purposes, the body characteristics of a
sample of butter shall be based upon the presence or absence of one or more of
the following physical attributes related to the texture of the butter:
1. "Crumbly" means the butter particles lack
cohesion, have a tendency to break easily and lack plasticity.
2. "Gummy" means the butter does not melt
readily and tends to be adhesive or gumlike.
3. "Leaky" means beads of moisture appear on
cut surfaces of the butter.
4.
"Mealy" or "grainy" means a condition which imparts a granular consistency that
may be characterized as sandy when the butter is melted on the
tongue.
5. "Ragged-boring" means a
sticky-crumbly condition evidenced by the fact that a full sampling trier of
butter cannot be drawn.
6. "Short"
means a short-grained texture, lacking in plasticity, and tending toward
brittleness, but not to the extent of being "crumbly."
7. "Sticky" means possessing excessive
adhesiveness and tending to be smeary.
8. "Weak" means a body texture that lacks
firmness and tends to be spongy.
(c) Color characteristics.
For grading purposes, the color characteristics of a sample of butter shall be
based upon the presence or absence of one or more of the following attributes
related to the butter's coloration:
1.
"Mottled" means a dappled condition with spots of lighter and deeper shades of
yellow.
2. "Speckled" means the
presence of small white or dark yellow particles of variable number and
size.
3. "Streaked" means the
coloration appears as light colored portions surrounded by more highly colored
portions.
4. "Wavy" means an
unevenness in the color that appears as waves of different shades of
yellow.
(d)
Salt
characteristics. For grading purposes, the salt characteristics of a
sample of butter shall be based upon the presence or absence of one of the
following attributes related to the saltiness of the butter:
1. "Sharp" means the butter is characterized
by taste sensations suggestive of salt.
2. "Gritty" means the butter is characterized
by a sandlike feel of grains of undissolved salt on the tongue or between the
teeth when the butter is chewed.
(2) INTENSITY. A butter characteristic under sub. (1) may be present with one of the following degrees of intensity:
(a) "Slight" means an attribute is barely
identifiable and present only to a small degree.
(b) "Definite" means an attribute is readily
identifiable and present to a moderate degree.
(c) "Pronounced" means an attribute is
markedly identifiable and present to a substantial degree.
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