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Thursday, September 26, 2013

A Blue Ribbon at the Fair

two pounds dehydrated carrots
in a half-pint jelly jar
(one cup)

No ribbons

First, let's discuss the losers or not-winners.The red clover jelly was not as clear as it should be, and I knew it was not ribbon-winning quality. My banana-pineapple jam without a label definitely was a mystery to everyone. As I was checking in, people guessed it was kraut, squash and other things. I imagine the judges could not guess what the bits were. No one was allowed to label their jars with the name of the produce inside. bummer. Of course, our names were hidden.
 
Now to the carrots. I took two store-bought, one-pound, frozen bags of crinkle cut carrots and dehydrated them. The result was a cupful of dehydrated carrots. I will have to remember not to throw the whole amount into the first soup I make. I think 1/4 cup would be right, one-half pound of carrots. `
 
Since I was eight-years-old, I have been winning ribbons, mostly blue. In 2009 I won several ribbons in this same fair.
 
Your turn
Did you enter anything in the fair this year or any year? Did you win any ribbons? I know some of you have canned lots this year. Or, maybe you entered something else, like the birdhouse I built that earned me a red ribbon. Now is the time to tell me of all of your wins. We are listening. Brag away. 

11 comments:

  1. Congratulations the ribbon. For the first time I entered some things at the fair - I think it was a total of 7 items and I got 4 ribbons. My cherries, carrots, strawberry jam and dried corn all took ribbons. My apple jelly and dried peppers didn't. It was fun but some of the ladies brought in like 100 + jars - not sure I'll ever do that but I might.

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    1. seyrey,

      Thank you. Congratulations on your wins, too. You did well, better percentage than I did. In our fair, there are not enough categories for that many jars. Of course, they could count on winning 2st, 2nd and 3rd in all categories. No, I will not ever enter that many things. I did want to enter about a dozen things, but that was not to be.

      Delete
  2. Congratulations!! Yes, I always enter items in the local fair --canned goods and baked goods. So do my children. Our fair gives out premium money for ribbons! I earned $12.00. I would have earned more, but the volunteers who took n the exhibit lost the recioe card I attached to my home canned soup, so the judges couldn't judge it. (We are required to list ingredients and processing method.)

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    Replies
    1. Meg B.,
      I got money, too. Good for all of you. That's a real bummer that they lost your recipe card. Next year a string on the card? They don't want anything but a jar of whatever. I don't much like that.

      I wish you had a blog so we could see your winners.

      Delete
  3. Way to go Linda! How wonderful to earn a blue ribbon. I have never entered anything in our fair. I'm going to give that some thought. Maybe I will next Summer.

    I sure don't understand your not being allowed to label your jars.How are they supposed to judge your entry when they don't even know what they are looking at? Is that a standard practice?

    You wrote that you dehydrated the carrots from frozen. Was that because it saved all the time peeling each carrot? I am having a good time with my new dehydrator. I will keep my eyes open for one of those top of the line ones like you have. You know that if you keep your eyes open you can find almost anything sooner or later.

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    Replies
    1. Janet,
      Thanks. You can enter anything canned anytime after this fair. So, you could pick the best things and save them for the fair judging.
      Standard practice. And, I don't understand either. Looks is all that counts if it is in a jar.

      Once I was given frozen carrots that would not fit in my freezer. I dehydrated them. It was so easy that I just decided to dehydrate frozen ones again. Besides, when frozen vegetables, that is a good time to buy and dry.

      I love my dehydrator and have a good time too. Hopefully, you can find one. I never have.

      Delete
  4. Congratulations on your blue ribbon! If the fair had been here people probably wouldn't expect to see banana anything. :-)

    I've won ribbons for horsemanship, but those were mostly 3rd place and below. I did win first place for my handmade soap once.

    Good for you on your placement.

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  5. Sue,
    No one expected to see banana jam here, either. We have too many fruits on trees and bushes to use two imported fruits for jam.

    At least you enter and get ribbons. I would not even know how to judge handmade soap.

    Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I rode in the local exhibition a little when I was a teenager.

      The soap was judged as an artistic arrangement if I remember correctly. I used 3 different kinds on a plate each a different colour that all looked pretty together. Sure you could judge soap...appearance, smell and bubbles. :-)

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  6. There actually is a nice dehydrator on Craig's list right now .. but a little out of my price range for the small amount of drying I do.http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/app/4092750043.html

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    Replies
    1. Janet,
      I have been trying to see that dehydrator, but I cannot see it. Eventually, I will, but not right now.

      Delete

Okay, hoping the annoyances have gone away.