Entering Canned Goods at a Local Fair

Some home food preservers enjoy showcasing their work by entering canned goods in their city, county, or state fair. Entries are judged, and awards are given to the participants who follow the canning process correctly and pay attention to details. Awards typically include a ribbon, and many have a small monetary prize as well. Winning an award at a fair also instills a great sense of pride in the home food preserver. Fairgoers and entrants may be curious to know how judges place awards.

Many judges follow the guide, Judging Home Preserved Foods, published by the National Center for Home Food Preservation, a publicly funded center for research and education dedicated to providing science-based resources and recipes for preserving food at home (Andress & Oesterle, 2003). Jars of food are evaluated for cleanliness (lid, ring, and outside surface), a strong seal, appearance, product consistency, and headspace. The surface, lids, and ring bands of canned food should be cleaned to remove residual food product and hard water scale. Rust should not be present. The seal of a jar should be strong enough that if the jar is lifted with fingertips by the lid, the weight of the jar should not break the seal.

Appearance

The appearance of canned goods should be appropriate for the product. Light-colored fruit such as pears or applesauce should not be brown on the top. Pickles should not be shriveled or have large seeds. Proper color can also be an indication that safe canning methods were used. For example, sweet corn is a low-acid product and must be processed in a pressure canner to eliminate the risk of botulism toxin. During the intense heat process in a pressure canner, the natural sugar in the corn caramelizes and turns brown. Some entrants will under-process their corn to keep the color bright. While these improperly processed jars of corn look nice, they are unsafe to consume and, therefore, should be disqualified from competition for not following the National Center for Home Food Preservation's method of canning.

• Canned food products should have a uniform consistency.
• Pieces of fruit should not float to the top of jam, and jelly should be uniformly clear.
• Tomato juice should not separate.
• Pieces of vegetables should have a uniform shape and whole pickles should be similar in size.
• Foreign objects should not be present. You do not want a peach pit or the fur from wild game in the jar.

Headspace

The headspace, or blank area on the top of a jar between the product and the lid, should be measured with a ruler and appropriate for the product. Jams and jellies require ¼-inch of headspace. Acidic products like pickles and fruit require ½-inch of headspace. Low-acid foods such as green beans and corn should have 1-inch of headspace. Improper headspace can result in a weak vacuum seal or premature spoilage.

Following the Rules

If you enter canned goods in your local fair, be sure to check the fair book for additional requirements or rules. A big part of the judging process is checking to see if the rules were followed. Some fairs require entrants to specify the processing method and time, recipe source, and date produced.

Some fairs ask for the ring bands to be removed and others want the ring bands to be on. This may seem confusing to some home canners, since it is recommended to remove the ring bands from jars, wash the top of the jars, and store the jars without the rings. This allows any spoilage or unsealed jars to be quickly identified. However, for evaluation purposes, sometimes judges will open a jar to further inspect the food on the inside. At some fairs, jams and jellies are tasted as part of the evaluation process. Therefore, the ring band is necessary to re-close the jar.

Even if the fair does not require you to indicate which recipe you followed, it is always important to follow research-tested recipes when canning foods. These recipes have been tested in a laboratory to ensure safety and quality. A great source of safe, tested recipes (which align with the National Center for Home Food Preservation method) is Penn State Extension's new resource guide, Preserving Food at Home (Hirneisen et al., 2022).

If you are interested in purchasing a copy of Preserving Food at Home, you can do so on the Penn State Extension website. For specific questions about preserving fruits, vegetables, and meats, call your local extension office to speak with a food safety educator.

References

Hirneisen, A., LaBorde, L., McDonald, S., McGeehan, N., & Reed, S. (2022). Preserving food at home. Penn State Extension.

Andress, E., & Oesterle, A. (2003). Judging home preserved foods. National Center for Home Food Preservation.