Home Foods Preservation

Registration Ends: Monday, Sept. 5, 11:59pm
Entry Drop Off: Saturday, Sept. 10, 10am-12pm
Winners Announced: Sunday, Sept. 11, 12pm

Ingredients List Due: Wednesday, Sept. 7, 11:59pm

Winners will be announced on the Fair Main Stage and on the DC State Fair website.

DC Gateway Pavilion
St. Elizabeth’s East
2700 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave. SE
Washington, DC, 20032

 

Awards Given 

Blue, red, and white ribbons will be awarded in the following categories:

  • Best Cucumber Pickle

  • Best Pickle (Non-Cucumber)

  • Best Jam/Jelly (Berry)

  • Best Jam/Jelly (Non-Berry) 

  • Best Chutney

Judging Criteria

Judges at the DC State Fair’s Home Food Preservation Contests will follow the current safety recommendation of the National Center for Home Food Preservation and rate entries on characteristics other than taste. The following scoring method will be used:

  1. Container (10 points):  Lid neatly labeled with name of product and processing date. Vacuum-sealed. Clean, clear glass standard home-canning jar of appropriate size for product and process. Matching lid and band, clean and free of rust. Band unbent and easily removed.

  2. Pack (30 points): Jar filled to appropriate headspace (1/2 inch). Proper balance of solids and liquids, neatly packed. Liquid covers all solids. No floating pieces. Food pieces evenly distributed throughout jar. No vertical or horizontal layering (“fancy pack”). Spices and seasonings attractive in pack. 

  3. Liquid (20 points):  Clear with no unnatural cloudiness. Free of bubbles, sediment, mold, and foreign matter (stems, cores etc.).  

  4. Color (20 points): Even color characteristic of cooked product. No artificial coloring except for a few specialty cucumber or apple-ring pickles. Color and translucency uniform throughout the jar. Free of discoloration or blemishes on food pieces. 

  5. Texture/Consistency (20 points): Pieces appear plump, not shriveled or shrunken. If pickles, no internal holes and pickles should be firm. Food pieces evenly sliced or chopped. Pleasing aroma appropriate for product; no indication of spoilage. Spices and seasonings not overwhelming. Jams are made from crushed fruits cooked to a smooth consistency that will mound up on a spoon but not jelly firm. **Only fruit combinations that are in tested recipes found in USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning or the Ball BlueBook will be accepted.

Contest Rules

For safety reasons, please follow these rules or your entry will not be accepted:

  1. Your entry must be properly processed and sealed according to accepted safe-canning procedures. Entries must be based on recipes from trusted published sources, such as the Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving or the USDA Complete Guide to Home Canning. Helpful websites on canning are available at http://www.uga.edu/nchfp, http://www.freshpreserving.com/getting-started, or http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/publications_usda.html.

  2. Entry forms must include the source of the recipe and the complete recipe, including the processing method and time, the type and amount of vinegar used (for pickles), and the size of the jar. Both pickles and jams require recipe submissions. 

  3. All entries must be exhibited in clear glass, standard home-canning jars in half-pint (8 oz.), pint (16 oz.), or quart (32 oz.) size. Products in fluted or blue-tinted jars will not be accepted. Use self-sealing jars only with two-piece metal canning lids (flat lid and band). These containers will not be returned to you.

  4. The lid (not the glass) must be labeled with the product name and the date processed. Do NOT place your name on the label, as entries will be numbered for anonymous judging.

  5. All jars must be clean and have lids and bands free from mold and rust.

  6. All entries must have been processed after September 9, 2021. (No entries should have been canned before September 9, 2021.)

  7. All entries must be shelf-stable. Entries preserved in alcohol, entries that require refrigeration, fermented foods, unsealed jars, entries canned with paraffin, and entries that show signs of spoilage will not be accepted.

  8. You may enter one recipe per category (a total of 5 entries). Please complete an entry form for each submission.

The DC State Fair organizers are not accountable for lost items. Containers will not be returned to you.

YOU CANNOT ENTER IF

  • You are a food professional including a licensed baker/caterer; oversee/supervise the preparation of food in a restaurant, bakery, carryout, grocery, deli, cafeteria, food truck, or any place where food is prepared and sold; own a food making/baking business; or a professional food writer who writes recipes for pay.