Pie competition has gotten flaky

While reading the Sunday Herald, a story headlined “Purchased pie crust could void blue-ribbon” caught my attention, so I read the whole article.

I attended the Evergreen State Fair in Monroe on Senior Citizens Day. I visited many of the commercial booths and displays. I especially wanted to see the pie and cake displays, since I have entered my pecan pie in state fairs in Florida, California, Kansas, and even won two blue ribbons there in Monroe (years ago).

I was so disappointed to see that they only had pictures of the pies. And the pictures on display that were awarded ribbons, were awful looking. I would not even have served those to my family. I asked one of the ladies sitting there how they judged such pies. She said they would give so many points for the looks, for the crust and so many for what was inside of the pie, and the one with the most points won the ribbon.

I would not have entered such an unappetizing looking pie in the first place, regardless of how it tasted.

The article in the Herald was about a pie that was entered in the Kentucky State Fair with a store-bought crust, and a question arose about how it could be considered as a Blue Ribbon Pie. The judge said “About half of the judgment of the pie is on the crust” so if it is determined that she used a store-bought crust the win would be voided. The lady says he doesn’t plan to enter the pie contest next year.

Iva Metz

Bothell