8 Grocery Store Habits That Give Away a Lifelong Wisconsinite
You pick up a bag of cheese curds and do something before it hits the cart that tells people where you’re from.
It’s one of several grocery store habits that mark a Wisconsinite from the cart to the register.
Here are the grocery store habits that give away a lifelong Wisconsinite.
1. Squeak Test
Many shoppers check a bag of cheese curds for squeak before they buy it.
Fresh curds squeak against your teeth.
Curds typically lose their squeak within a few days to a couple of weeks, according to a UW-Madison College of Agricultural and Life Sciences article.
If you wait too long, you’ll lose the squeak.
Freshness is the whole point.
2. Butter Over Margarine
You choose butter over margarine in a state that kept yellow margarine illegal until 1967.
Wisconsin barred making or selling yellow margarine in 1895.
That’s 72 years.
Residents once had to bootleg margarine from bordering states, and getting caught could mean a hefty fine.
Wisconsin law also requires butter to be graded before a store sells it.
Locals tend to reach for butter first.
What You See on Butter
Butter in a grocery store earns its grade from a score.
Wisconsin AA butter scores 93, Wisconsin A scores 92, and Wisconsin B scores 91 to 90.
U.S. AA, A and B grades stand in for the matching Wisconsin grades, so you’ll see federal grades too.
Butter from another state needs a label showing it meets Wisconsin’s grade standards.
A store ad that names a butter price has to show the grade in type of at least 10 points.
3. Racine Kringle
You can pick up a kringle at the grocery store, and a 2019 Milwaukee Magazine guide said Racine Danish Kringles supplied stores such as Pick n’ Save.
Kringle became Wisconsin’s state pastry in 2013.
Danish immigrants brought it to Racine County, where it remains a local tradition.
At least four Racine bakeries make it, so you’ve got options when you shop.
Pick your bakery.
4. Fresh Cranberries
Cranberries are Wisconsin’s state fruit, and the state typically harvests around 60 percent of the nation’s crop.
The state’s agriculture department put Wisconsin’s 2025 harvest at 4.61 million barrels.
Some locals buy fresh cranberries by the bag once fall arrives, and your cart might show it too.
Psst! What does your cart say about you? Run through this checklist and see where you stand.
5. Brandy in the Cart
You can add a bottle of brandy to your cart at a grocery store that has a Class A liquor license.
Wisconsin lists grocery stores among the businesses that can hold that license.
Not every store has one.
That license covers liquor sold in original packages for drinking off the premises.
Brandy sells so well in Wisconsin that Korbel, the California brandy maker, sold more than half of its U.S. cases there in 2019, Milwaukee Magazine reported.
6. Master Cheesemaker’s Mark
You can look for the Master’s Mark on a package of cheese, which brands can use only on products their Master Cheesemaker is certified for.
Master Cheesemaker is a title Wisconsin cheesemakers earn through a joint program from the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Center for Dairy Research and Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin.
Applicants need to hold a Wisconsin cheesemaker’s license for at least 10 years first.
The program then takes about three years of training, according to Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin.
It’s a long road.
The program’s sponsor says Wisconsin is the only place outside of Switzerland where a cheesemaker can reach that level.
Some shoppers like knowing who made their cheese, and you might too.
Psst! How much do you know about Wisconsin’s food history? Take our quiz and see if you can ace it.
Quiz
Dairyland Trivia
Answer nine questions on Wisconsin cheese, butter and pantry history. We bet you can’t get them all right. Prove us wrong?
J.I. Smith of Sheboygan County became the first to ship Wisconsin cheese out of state. Which city got his barrels?
7. Pig Points
You enter your phone number at the checkout terminal to use Pig Points at Piggly Wiggly.
The program is digital only, so there's no card to carry.
Piggly Wiggly Midwest has been headquartered in Sheboygan since 1911, according to a 2021 announcement from C&S Wholesale Grocers.
At the time, the deal covered 84 Wisconsin franchisees under the Piggly Wiggly brand.
Some call it the Pig.
8. Discover at Woodman's
You pay with a Discover card at Woodman's, which currently accepts no other credit card.
Woodman's also accepts PIN debit cards, EBT and WIC.
Cash works too.
Most Woodman's locations take checks, though the store doesn't cash personal checks.
You can bring and use reusable bags at any register.
Most Woodman's grocery stores are open 24 hours, with exceptions on some holidays.
Sheboygan Brats
Sheboygan, a Lake Michigan city, is nicknamed "Bratwurst Capital of the World."
The Wisconsin Historical Society credits the city's strong German influence for that title.
If you grill brats, you know the name.
Sheboygan was officially given that title in 1970, according to a 2025 gubernatorial proclamation.
The World's Largest Brat Fest takes place during Memorial Day weekend in Madison.
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