Pueblog USa
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Competitors, Start Your Ovens!
The entry form deadline for the State Fair is tomorrow. So it’s time to decide: heat up the house and prove who’s got the best chocolate chip cookies this side of the Kansas border, or stand around at the fair, lamely saying “I bet mine are better than that.”
It is now, as they say in some circles, time to put up or shut up. The deadline for submitting your entry forms for the Colorado State Fair Open Competitions is Friday, August 12. If you’re the type of Fair-goer who eats chili dogs and cotton candy and then rides the Zipper ‘til disaster happens, this post won’t interest you.
If, however, you’re the sort of Fair-goer who has wandered into the Creative Arts building and wondered where all that stuff came from, this post is for you. It came from people like you and me, who decided to risk a few bucks on entry fees and ingredients to see if they can claim state-wide bragging rights on their quilts, their biscuits, their jams and jellies, their ceramics, doilies and leatherwork. Just go here and download the desired .pdf file. It will include an entry form, instructions on where to pay entry fees, where to take your entries, and when and so on.
Last year I observed part of the pantry judging, and it was very educational. The judges were very nice in giving out baking tips as they critiqued the various items. (And no, I don’t know how you become a chocolate chip cookie judge, but I suspect a degree in home economics helps.) I have the following advice if you want to enter pantry items:
1) The most entries were in chocolate chip cookies and banana bread, so I wouldn’t bother entering those unless I was going after “Queen/KIng of the Kitchen” where you’ll basically want to enter everything in order to increase the odds of getting enough ribbons.
2) Unless the category calls for nuts or raisins, don’t bother adding them because the judge will just pick them out. It seems they can’t hold a bad nut against an entrant, so they’re removed so that they don’t distract from the flavor of what the cook did.
3) A jelly is supposed to be firm, but not so firm that the judge can’t get a plastic spoon into it.
Have fun!