“Our state fair is a great state fair,
Don't miss it, don't even be late.
It's dollars to donuts that our state fair
Is the best state fair in our state!”

- Oscar Hammerstein

As a longtime competitor at the Minnesota State Fair, I thought a couple people might be interested in seeing what I do, when I do it, and how I do it.  This new blog is all about my 2009 State Fair entries and represents what I have prepared thus far.  While some of us have been preserving fruits and vegetables for many years, current economic conditions have prompted a resurgence in the science and the art of home canning.  I have some credentials that allow me to speak with some authority on the topic, and while I would not presume to present myself as a bona fide expert, I do know more about it than your average bear.  I generally “put up” about 400 jars of jams, jellies, relishes, and pickles each summer, beginning in June.  I am a good resource for people who are interested in the subject.  While I don’t take myself especially seriously, I do take the science of food safety very seriously and practice conservative methods of processing.  My knowledge of the subject comes from experience, reading, consulting with people smarter about it than I am,  and workshops sponsored by the University of Minnesota Food Science experts on the subject.  I am a firm believer in staying current with research-based methods and recommendations.

My Usenet rec.food.preserving group friends call me Mother Superior, the Holy Order of the Sacred Sisters of St. Pectina of Jella.  We wear our pearls and our high heels (even the Father Inquisitor dresses up when he’s canning) when we preserve as we honor June Cleaver; we pray to Saint Vinaigrette™©.  We in the group who compete at fairs call ourselves “ribbon sluts” instead of (she whispers) “ribbon wh***s” because there’s no money in it.

Since 1981, Minnesota State Fair canning and baking judges have awarded me lots of ribbons (all colors, including lots of blue ones and a bunch big fancy blue rosettes) for my efforts; twice I was named the Fair’s “Prestigious Processor of the Pantry” and I have the Olympic-style medallions to prove it.  How silly is that name for the canning champion! (You may call me Queenie.)   A local company, M. A. Gedney, of Chaska, Minnesota, has produced two of my blue ribbon jam recipes for commercial distribution as part of their State Fair Award Winning Recipes line of preserves .  The first jam, Peach Raspberry, introduced in 1996, has been retired from the line, and the second, Cherry (introduced about four years ago), is still one of the best sellers in the line—they make it at least as good as I did!  Yummy stuff!  In June, 2005, Minnesota’s First Lady Mary Pawlenty threw a dinner in my honor recognizing me as one of Minnesota’s Notable Women.  Okay, so she thought about 35 other women were worthy of the honor and invited them to the dinner, too.  They probably all think it was for them, but I know better. 

I wrote to First Lady Michelle Obama a couple months ago with an offer to teach her, her mom and her daughters how to make jam, but my letter must have gotten lost because I haven’t had a response yet.  Drat!  And I’m still waiting for Ellen Degeneres to contact me so I can show her how it’s done.  And Dave Letterman seems to be ignoring me, too.  If you want to start a letter-writing campaign on my behalf, feel free.  How much fun would I have!

My serious State Fair fun begins the week before the Fair opens when I attend the Minnesota State Fair Foundation’s annual fundraiser, Taste of the Fair.  For the last three or four years, a basket of my blue ribbon canned goods has been auctioned off at the event.  Last year, the high bidder paid $625 for it.  Woo-hoo!  I was stunned.  This year, in addition to the Taste of the Fair event, another basket will be offered to the person who makes the highest offer for it during the Fair’s run, from August 27-September 5, 2009.  Once the Fair opens, I often do a lot of media appearances and interviews, having more legal fun than a woman my age should be allowed.  Last year’s highlight, along with another appearance  with Joe Soucheray on KSTP-AM radio,  and one on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered was an appearance with Garrison Keillor on A Prairie Home Companion, also broadcast on National Public Radio.  Garrison asked me to marry him after he tasted my corn relish and my pickled beets.  He’s a cute boy but I ‘splained him I’m already taken, that Rob wouldn’t look kindly on it, and it just wouldn’t be seemly, don’cha know.

My house is a mess and we’re in the middle of a remodeling project, but WeBeJammin’!

Our state fair really is the best state fair!  Let the games begin!

“Preservato, ergo sum.  I can, therefore, I am.”

Hoping to hear from you,

Barb Schaller