MELBA’S SWAP SHOP
TIME FOR THE STATE FAIR HAS ARRIVED
DEAR READERS: The time for the Oklahoma
State Fair is here, and you know that I will be there many days judging the food competition.
But before we get into that, let me tell you about judging the Oklahoma County Fair on Aug. 25. Judging homemade ice cream. Everyone wants the job. I can’t share the job, but after the ice cream winners had been chosen, the public was invited to do their own taste-test.
Most people say they love homemade ice cream, but they don’t want to make it. It’s not the easiest thing you’ve ever done, but is not too difficult either. For one thing, you can start it the day before you finish it. Mixing ingredients the day before finishing it, not only causes an increase in the finished amount, it also gives it a smoother, creamier consistency.
A few tips: Fill the freezer container only about two-thirds full which will give it space for expanding. You’ll need 4 parts cracked ice with 1 part rock salt packed around the freezer container. For the actual freezing, use your freezer’s directions.
To pack the freezer to take to the contest, after freezing it, pour off the salt water and wipe off the lid. Remove the dasher carefully, making sure no salt water gets into the cream mixture. Place a cork in the lid and replace the lid on the container. Cover the container with wet newspapers or heavy material.
Last Monday I helped judge a huge cake contest. I’ll give you some of the recipes next week.
There are always many contests taking place at the same time besides cakes, but I really don’t have time to check out many of these. Because, there are usually about 100 cakes entered in the contest. Sandy Killian and I have judged this contest for years.
This means that when we first started, we each tasted every cake by taking at least two bites of each cake. It only took one year of judging to teach us that there should be a better way. Since then, we each start at opposite ends of the tables. We test each cake as we work our way toward each other, choosing winners in each category. We then both taste test the ones we have chosen as winners of each category. This means that we’re still tasting more than 50 cakes at each contest.
This contest is judged before the fair starts. If you want to see the winners, they’ll be on exhibit in the Creative Arts building, along with a ton of other contest winners. We must be sweet addicts. Yes, we’re sweet.
And then the fair starts and the public starts coming and going while we’re judging. My first contest with the public present will be the Spam Contest contest at noon Saturday. Judging then proceeds to Scrumptious From Scratch, 1 p.m. Sept. 17; C&H Sugar, 10 a.m. Sept. 19; Peanuts, 1 p.m. Sept. 19; Kids’ Pancakes, 10 a.m. Sept. 22; and Oklahoma Pride, 5 p.m., Sept. 22.
Come on out. Judging is fun but so is just visiting all the foods on display. See you there. — Melba
DEAR MELBA: If you judge cookies at the fair, you might be judging some that taste like these. They’re good enough to be real winners, not just “fair” winners.