Blog
On the other side of the table – Iowa State Fair
By Carol / August 18, 2015 /
With every presentation I made as a 4-H member, getting to the Iowa State Fair was my goal. Each year, I did my best, yet it was never enough to go beyond the county level. The judges always chose someone else, and I was always disappointed. I spent some time railing against the unfairness of the judges, let me tell you.
Seventeen peanut brittle entries waiting for the judges.
As an adult living only four miles from the fairgrounds, the allure of the State Fair remains strong. I’m always eager to attend. A couple of years ago, I entered a quilt and earned a third place ribbon. For once, I was delighted.
It didn’t occur to join the judging ranks myself until this year when Des Moines Register columnist Kyle Munson announced on FaceBook that he was looking for judges to join him for the new peanut brittle competition.
Peanut brittle is one of my favorite candies. I make it every year. Seemed like those were qualifications enough to judge. I signed up.
When the day rolled around, I was ready. And excited. And hungry.
Seventeen entries greeted us. A respectable number for the first year, and a number we figured two judges could get through in the hour allotted. Volunteers supplied plates, napkins, and damp clothes, along with crackers and water to cleanse our palates. A writer sat beside each judge, to record our comments, tally scores, and keep things moving.
Spectators filled the chairs, leaning forward in anticipation, straining to hear our words, watching our faces as we sampled from each plate. Some hoping, no doubt, to be judged the winner. With their eyes on me, I felt the weight of responsibility.
The task was more challenging than I imagined it would be. Judging is a subjective task, maybe more so when it comes to food. The score sheet with it’s weighted percentages for Taste, Texture, and the nebulous Other Considerations gave some structure to the process. But even with that, there were so many reasons to have different opinions.
- Was the best peanut brittle the one that was most like the recipe I make and love dearly?
- Was it one of those with unexpected ingredients, like dried Kalamata olives or cayenne pepper and mustard or the perennial State Fair favorite bacon?
- Or one of those stretched so thin with forks you could almost see through the brittle?
Judging at the State Fair level is serious business.
As it turns out, 17 entries is a lot to judge in only one hour. One little taste of an entry, savor the flavor, consider the texture, note whether it stuck to my teeth, take into account how it was presented. Make comments. Assign scores. Eat a soda cracker. Drink water. On to the next entry.
After we evaluated each salty/sweet brittle individually, Kyle and I went behind the curtain to discuss and decide on the final winners. We emerged with three ribbon winners and an honorable mention. The crowd applauded the results. The blue ribbon winners cheered.
Judging peanut brittle taught me a lot. Being a judge is tough. You want to be fair, you want to reward the best, but best is relative. I can be more empathetic with the judges that kept me out of the State Fair all those years ago. I still don’t like it, but I empathize with their challenge. And I empathize with those who entered full of anticipation and didn’t win. Judging can be as bitter sweet as entering.
In case you’re wondering, we awarded the blue ribbon to a wonderful peanut brittle that included a hint of coconut and was served up in a little red bucket with tissue paper. I’ll be trying that secret ingredient myself come the holidays.
You might have to get your teeth looked at after such a marathon tasting of peanut brittle! Coconut always makes everything tastier. I use it in my granola recipe which I have every morning for breakfast.
It was a goal of both of us judges to conclude the day with our teeth firmly in place! I’m glad to say we were successful. Only one entry made me wonder.
I, too, am fond of coconut, though I know it’s not at the top of the list for everyone. Those folks might change their minds if they tried this peanut brittle.
That sounds like so much fun, and delicious at the same time. Though I think it would be awhile before I would want to taste peanut brittle again. Too much of a good thing.
We love our County fair, but seldom go to the State Fair. It’s too big, too far away, though they have the best cream puffs ever. We did go in my growing up years, but now it is very ‘big city” as Milwaukee has grown up around it. Our County Fair keeps us happy.
I have entered things in the Open division over the years, though never did think about applying for judging. All the children did 4H growing up. I’ve been in Homemakers since leaving 4H and my oldest girl has found a group that she has joined. We just watched STATE FAIR the other night, the 1945 musical. It is a yearly tradition for us. We had my mother over too, and she kept commenting, oh my I don’t remember wearing high heels at the fair! How can she walk in those in the barn? ETC.
People had warned me that I’d overdose, so I took care to pace myself; one bite of each entry. Seventeen bites is a lot, yet I left feeling as though I could eat another piece. Shows how much I like peanut brittle.
What a nice tradition to watch STATE FAIR each year. I’ve looked at old pictures of fairs, and everyone did dress up. That has always amazed me, too. I’m not certain about the high heels; I’ll have to look for that specifically. Whenever I’d mention things like heels in a situation like that, my dad would remind me, “It’s a movie.”