2017 butter cow display unveiled, salutes beverage and student athletes
The butter display is a long-standing tradition of Ohio's nearly 2,400 dairy farmers. Each year, the display’s theme is one of the best-kept secrets leading up to the Ohio State Fair.
Chocolate milk butter sculpture uses color-tinted butter for first time ever
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The annual butter display, one of the best kept secrets at the Ohio State Fair each year, has been unveiled. This year’s display is a salute to chocolate milk, the official beverage of Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA). Inside the dairy cooler, the traditional butter cow and calf is joined by a larger-than-life bottle of chocolate milk, along with four high school athletes.
“On behalf of Ohio’s dairy farmers, the American Dairy Association Mideast is proud to partner with OHSAA to help student athletes perform their best,” says Jenny Hubble, senior vice president of communications for ADA Mideast. “Chocolate milk is the ideal beverage for student athletes, as well as for their fans, because it contains nine essential nutrients to give them the fuel they need to stay at the top of their game.”
The six-foot bottle of chocolate milk featured in the butter display gets its creamy, chocolatey color from cocoa powder that’s mixed with the butter. It’s the first time the sculptors have ever added color to their masterpiece.
“We wanted the sculpture to really look like a delicious bottle of chocolate milk, so we decided to test out a small batch of butter by adding a pinch of cocoa powder,” says one of the lead butter sculptors, Alex Balz. “It created this beautiful brown color that looked perfect when we applied it to the sculpture.”
The butter sculptures are on display in the Dairy Products Building at the Ohio State Fair from 9 a.m. until 9 p.m. each day. Fairgoers can also learn about Ohio dairy farmers and enjoy treats like ice cream, milkshakes and cheese sandwiches.
