Re: USCHO Cooks: Open Your Mystery Basket.
My State Fair experience is done. meh. I didn't place in the first 2 categories, and I don't know the results of the last one yet. I wasn't happy with my cookies, and the winners that beat my pie looked REALLY good. I ended up re-making my pound cake because the first one sank in the middle (second one was fine).
I think I was on the lower end of how seriously I took the contest, so probably would not do State Fair again. I like baking to be fun, and this was not all that fun. I'd rather find something that looks good or fun/challenging to make, and try it - not spend endless hours tweaking the same recipe over and over before a deadline where it feels like a chore.
Yeah, for some people these competitions are their entire lives. And there is nothing in it for them other than pride -- unless $12 per category and a ribbon count as something. From my experiences the baking entrants seem to be much more hardcore than the preserved food crowd. I have only ever entered canning categories. Everything I enter are things I already made prior to even being aware of these sorts of competitions. With or without the state fair, I know my few specialties are really good and I constantly work to make them better since it's entire possible I may be really anal when it comes to the fact that if I'm going to do something I might as well do it as well as possible. Thus, since I know they're good I might as well enter them. Little trickier now considering I moved, but via some creative shipping and my trips back I'll be sticking things in again. I've scored a handful of seconds in the past and just want to get one first just so I can say I did, then I'll likely stop bothering. I blame this whole thing on my mom making a ridiculously good zucchini relish when I was a kid
Long story short, there are some people who make this their entire life and it's pretty ridiculous. The psychology is the same as that seen in parents who hang on the fence and scream like idiots at youth sports games. They've got nothing else.
Google "Roy Berrum Crystal, MN." Prime example. Dude has no life outside of entering food in the fair. Well, unless you count a horrible youtube cooking show. I'll also point out that I've been smoking Roy annually in my few preferred categories.
My advice for the future is instead of making things specifically
for the fair, rather just make whatever you want to in general and if you're convinced it's really good and it fits into a fair category, then enter it. Odds are it's better than you think.
PS Still no luck on the shirt, and I've legitimately tried. Might not help that the Eau Claire torch and pitchfork crowd ain't real pleased with me at the moment.
