84-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, August 9, 2003 Judge A Cake By Appearance Counts During Reading Fair Baking Contest ANDY ANDREWS Editor LEESPORT (Berks Co.) Sometimes appearances aren’t deceiving. In the eyes of some judges, looks can count a great deal, es pecially in the world of baking. “Appearance counts,” said Marge Nester, retired home eco nomics teacher from Muhlenberg High School. Nester, who helped judge the baking contests Monday at the Reading Fair, said, “People eat with their eyes, not with their mouths.” Nester had some advice for would-be champion bakers: “If it doesn’t look good, you might as well forget it.” Looking good, Nester noted, includes quick breads that don’t sag in the middle or are cracked. It also includes cakes that are proportional and well presented to the eye. Bakers must follow di rections for a contest to a T. When it comes to contests, Reading proved no exception several entries were disqualified because some cooks didn’t follow the contest directives. Nester taught at Muhlenberg for 18 years and judged many times at the Kutztown, Oiey, and Reading fairs. She found recipes at the Hershey cake and cookie contest that didn’t follow the di rectives carefully outlined: use Hershey chips and cocoa, because the contest sponsor spells them out. Though heat and humidity took its toll on some entries, judges were looking at several factors, including appearance, flavor, and texture for the cake and cookies. For the quick breads and pies, overall appearance, crust color, flavor, texture, and shrinkage, in addition to bottom crust “doneness” and filling con sistency and flavor, rated high. r Wood • Oil • Gas 1 “Buying a Classic Central Boiler is one of the best decisions I have made I have a free supply of wood so my heat and hot water cost me zero Since installing the boiler I saved between $3OO and $4OO per month " Don P- CT Lawn Care of PA 311 Willow St., Terre Hill, PA 17581 (717) 445-8431 www.centralboiler.com Holding the winning Reading Fair baking contest entries are, from left, Fay Strickler, Berks County family and consumer science instructor, chocolate cake entry; and Read ing Fair volunteers June Schuler, holding the winning apple pie; Linda Ernst, holding the quick bread winner; and Helen Readinger, holding the cookie contest winning entry. Photo by Andy Andrews, editor Creativity was critical as well. In all, there were 18 quick breads, 17 chocolate cakes, 13 cookie entries, and 15 pie entries. The Hershey Cocoa Classic cake contest specified the use of Her shey’s cocoa. The baking chips cookie, brownie, or bar contest specified the use of Hershey’s baking chips (any variety) and, if frosting is used, Hershey’s cocoa must be used and listed in the recipe. CLASSIC Outdoor Wood Furnace with Dual Fuel Option • Operates using the economical choice of wood and/or the convenience of oil, LP or natural gas, • Our exclusive Ripple Top® and Heat Lock Baffle " system optimizes combustion and heat transfer for maximum efficiency and low wood consumption. The cookie contest winner was Nicole Gruber, Slatedale, for a recipe for “Cherry Raspberry Chocolate Brownies” (all judges voted this tops in appearance for the cookie entries). The chocolate cake winner was “Amanda’s Chocolate Cake,” also tops in appear ance by all judges, exhibi ted by Amanda Kurtz, Emmaus. Amanda’s sister, Sara, exhibited the quickbread winner, “Sweet Potato Bread.” The top apple pie, “Yummy Apple Me ringue Pie With Spiced Pecans,” exhib ited by Catherine Ache, was also rated number one in appear ance by all judges. All number ones tasted good, too. Amanda Kurtz, 12, is the daughter of Rob ert and Sharon Kurtz, Emmaus. Robert noted his daughter has shown at various fairs, picking up ribbons at the Pennsylvania Fair recently. Amanda is in Its Cover? Of Course! the seventh grade at St. Anne’s in Emmaus. Amanda’s sister, Sara, 8, is en rolled in third grade at St. Anne’s. Farm Tours The Best Escorted Vacations You'll Ever Find 15 days