Wisconsin Administrative Code › Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection › ATCP 55-89 - Food, Lodging, and Recreation Safety › Chapter ATCP 81 - Cheese Grading, Packaging And Labeling › Subchapter I - Definitions and General Provisions › Section ATCP 81.01 - Definitions

Current through June 24, 2024
As used in this chapter:
(2) "Body and texture characteristics" for
				  purposes of grading cheese under this chapter include the following traits:
(a) "Broken down" means the condition of the
				  cheese has changed from a firm, smooth or coarse, curdy or rubbery condition to
				  a waxy condition similar to that of cold butter, or to a mealy or pasty
				  condition.
(b) "Coarse" means a
				  cheese is rough, dry and sandy to the touch.
(c) "Corky" means a cheese texture that is
				  hard, tough and overly firm and is characterized by failure of the cheese to
				  readily break down when rubbed between the thumb and fingers.
(d) "Crumbly" means that cheese is loosely
				  knit and tends to fall apart when rubbed between the thumb and
				  fingers.
(e) "Curdy" means a cheese
				  is smooth but firm, and when worked between the fingers, is rubbery and not
				  waxy.
(f) "Firm" means the body of
				  the cheese feels solid and is not soft or weak.
(g) "Gassy" means that cheese contains gas
				  holes of various sizes which may be scattered or unevenly distributed
				  throughout the cheese.
(h) "Mealy"
				  means cheese has a short body texture, does not mold well, and looks and feels
				  like corn meal when rubbed between the thumb and fingers.
(i) "Open" means that irregularly shaped
				  mechanical openings, caused by workmanship and not gas fermentation, are
				  present.
(j) "Pasty" means that
				  cheese has a weak body, and that it becomes sticky and smeary when rubbed
				  between the thumb and fingers.
(k)
				  "Pinny" means the presence of numerous and very small gas holes in a cheese.
(L) "Reasonably firm" means the
				  body of the cheese is somewhat less than firm, but not to the extent of
				  materially injuring the keeping quality of the cheese.
(m) "Short" means that there is no elasticity
				  to the cheese plug removed by means of a grading trier, and that the plug tends
				  toward mealiness when rubbed between the thumb and fingers.
(n) "Slitty" means that cheese contains
				  narrow, elongated slits which are generally associated with a cheese that is
				  "gassy" or "yeasty". Slits in cheese having this characteristic may sometimes
				  be referred to as "fish eyes".
(o)
				  "Smooth" means the surface of the cheese feels silky, and is not dry, coarse or
				  rough.
(p) "Solid, compact and
				  close" means the texture of the cheese has practically no openings of any
				  kind.
(q) "Sweet holes" means that
				  small spherical gas holes, approximately the size of BB shots, are present.
				  Sweet holes may also be referred to as "shot" or "Swiss holes".
(r) "Translucent" means a cheese has the
				  appearance of being partially transparent.
(s) "Waxy" means that a cheese, when worked
				  between the fingers, molds well like wax or cold butter.
(t) "Weak" means a cheese requires little
				  pressure to crush and is soft but not necessarily sticky like a pasty
				  cheese.