The tables were laden with cookies, cupcakes, decorated cakes, pound cake, cookie bars, bread, biscuits, muffins, fudge. It was 9:30 a.m.
My mom and I joined 10 other women last Wednesday morning to judge the baked goods at the N.C. Mountain State Fair. It was a hard job, but somebody had to do it.
My cousin Renay Knapp serves as the superintendent for the baked goods show. When Mama told her she didn’t know if she was qualified to judge, Renay said, “You know what looks good and tastes good, don’t you?” So, I guess we were qualified.
Several of the other judges were former or current extension agents and Ellerslie McCue, the marketing specialist for the Fair, joined us. Marilyn Cole, who used to work at the Extension Office here in Macon County was one of the judges. They moved away some years, ago, but she was from down in Otto where I grew up, and she and Mama enjoyed visiting. She remembered Daddy always taking good care of her car when he owned the Texaco station in Otto. Marilyn’s daughter, Tammara, is now the 4-H agent in Macon County.
Kim Terrell from our Extension Office was there judging the jams and jellies, which had to be better than her previous assignment of judging the acidity of the pickled products.
The day before the judging Renay texted to let us know there were 300 baked good entries. 300! Would we have to taste all 300?
They divided us up into six teams of two judges each. Mama and I were assigned two categories in the youth division: 6-8 year olds and 12-14 year olds.
Since it was close to breakfast time, we started out with the muffins and biscuits before tucking into the really sweet stuff. There was a beautiful loaf of yeast bread that I questioned how much work a 6-8 year old really put into it, but it was tasty and got a first place ribbon.
We were worried about slicing into the pretty decorated cakes but learned a trick of the trade. They aren’t really cakes – it’s Styrofoam decorated like a cake. In that category you just judge the appearance. So, if you go to the fair and see an orange cake decorated like a cat’s face, just know it’s not a real cake that’s been sitting out for 10 days. One little cake maker got creative and played on the mountain theme – the cake had blue M&Ms shaped like a flowing creek, gummy fish swimming down the creek and candy “rocks” along the creek edge.
There were a few things we bit into that were so sweet they made my teeth hurt. We had little plates of crackers, carrots and cheese and bottled water to cleanse our pallets in between tastings.
The cookie category had the most entries. As Forrest Gump described shrimp: There were oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Sugar cookies with almond flavored icing. There’s Pumpkin cookies with white chocolate chips. Cranberry and chocolate chip cookies. Brown sugar cookies. And, there were just plain old-fashioned chocolate chip cookies.
My favorite of all the treats was peanut butter fudge cut out as cute little owls complete with glasses to make them look even wiser.
While we were waiting for the other judges to finish so we could vote on Best of Show, I walked around the expo building and looked at the exhibits. The photography judges had their work cut out for them – there were some beautiful photographs on display. I also enjoyed seeing all the kids’ Lego creations. I was amazed at the arts and crafts – we have some very creative people of all ages in Western North Carolina. It’s especially assuring to see the artwork of the kids and know that everyone is not glued to their phone screens and are continuing the arts for future generations.
The Mountain State Fair runs through Sept. 14 at the WNC Ag Center in Fletcher, just past the Asheville airport. The fair features livestock shows, music and entertainment, carnival rides and of course, fair food. Admission is $5-$9 (if bought in advance online) and tickets for the rides are $27.50. Check out the schedule and details at wncagcenter.org.
Macon County Fair
It’s not too late to get your entries ready for the Macon County Fair, which starts next Wednesday, Sept. 17, and runs through Sept. 20. Entries can be submitted on Tuesday, Sept. 16, from 9 a.m.-8 p.m. The Best Cake contest will be Saturday, Sept. 20 – register from 10-11 a.m. These cakes are the real deal – no Styrofoam. Judging will be from 11-12 with the winner announced at noon, then the cakes will be auctioned off.