USA's Other Medalists

 America has other  medalists - top stars  -not in athletics but in baking.Our state fairs bring out the best in home bakers. There are delicious pies and cakes , on a par with any award winning sweet. These  show the best of the state's bakers  and like any medal winner they are proud of this achievement.

Regular contributor Kim Severson interviewed them in yesterday's New York times Food section.State fairs have always been known for their different and fun foods. They're the place to munch on cotton candy and corn dogs.They're also the places to sample good homemade baking, a throwback to a simpler time.One superstar is Karen DeLawder from Rockingham County , Virginia has won one thousand (!!!!!)blue ribbons from local and state fair.s Her most notable win was sponsored by the local Egg Council for her magic flan cake. It took her five years to win that one. She even took a class in juding that gave her tremendous insight on how judges decide which entry is the best. Then there's seventy- two year old Jim Austen who has been baking for state fairs in his native California for fifty five years. His first medal was for a lemon meringue pie but he has also won for his Prickly pear jelly and brandied cherries.Strategies are important in winning any contest and that's certainly Elaine Reilly's plan. She first tries out her recipes at New York State state fairs and then sends the recipes into food companies contests.

Every contest has an MVP and that title belongs to Pamela Koiber.She has surpassed Karen deLawders medal count and won a phenomenal 1,607 medals in her  native.Oklahoma. her notable win was the Oklahoma Ste Fair cookie jar contest in which four to seven types of cookies are stacked in a gallon jar . She was undergoing breast cancer treatments along with caring for a dying mother. She won and was able to share the win with her mom. Her chocolate cake won five times as well. One of the youngest is Anna Sattler.of Wisconsin. This twenty-five year old has won twenty medals so far. her first came at age seventeen for her five spice cinnamon roll. There there is the rookie HansLieven from Lake Oswego Oregon,He never heard of state fairs , living abroad with a Taiwanese mother and Flemish father. His American wife encouraged him and he won for his version of a not that sour sourdough made with different flours .Of course there has to be a coach.Resa Romero has never won any blue ribbons for her dishes but she has coached her six kids. Her youngest eighteen year old Joshua has won for seventy-five different items including canned yarms and an all natural insect ointment. Her kids have had two generations, from their parents to their grandparents helping them. Her husband Sam taought them cooking while his mother Eunice taught them to cook Mexican dishes. Ms. Romero;'s mother  LaDean Silberhorn was the queen of canning. The kids have even contributed to a cookbook.

Winning is everything, especially when it comes to state fairs. These are the best of the best,They can turn an ordinary pie, bread , cinnamon bun or preserves into an an warding winning recipe.