The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has criteria for the grading of butter. Butter that is less than Grade B cannot be made available to consumers.
Butter in the United States must be >= 80% milkfat.
Parameters:
(1) key flavor
(2) source
(3) texture
(4) additional flavor factors
Key Flavor
Source
Texture
Additional Flavor(s)
Grade
delicate, sweet, highly pleasing aroma
high-quality fresh, sweet cream
smooth, creamy, readily spreadable
slight feed; definite cook; no A flavors
AA
pleasing
fresh cream
fairly smooth
slight A flavors; definite feed flavor
A
not sweet; slightly acid, acceptable to many
sour cream, other
crumbly, watery, sticky
definite A flavors; slight B flavors
B
A flavors:
(1) aged
(2) acid
(3) bitter
(4) coarse
(5) flat
(6) smothered
(7) storage
B flavors:
(1) malty
(2) musty
(3) scorched
(4) utensil
(5) whey
If the butter is salted then the salt must be evenly distributed without interfering with texture to be graded AA.
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