Now although I have been a collector of worldwide foods recipes for many years I was presented with the pleasant task of having to host a dinner party for a group of prospective clients. Although the group consisted of several nationalities I decided to prepare a Western type dish "Oven Barbecued Pork Roast". I was quite sure that pork was not likely to offend any of my prospective guests!!
Although I already have thousands of recipes and popular foods recipes ebooks mainly in PDF format, that are these days available for instant download worldwide, I wanted something different.
After various free searches I came across an ebook containing 490 Blue Ribbon Recipes that had the exact recipe I wanted.
Having acquired my recipe I was curious as to how a recipe can get a "Blue Ribbon".
Again I did loads of searches on various combinations of words including "Blue and Ribbon" and was surprised to find that was not an actual definition, maybe I just didn't look in the right places, but my search was pretty thorough.
What I did however discover is that in America the competition for the blue ribbon is extremely competitive.
Basically I learnt that every year there about 80 fairs in the USA with representation from 50 States. Each fair has its own blue ribbon recipe competition. The field of acceptable categories is quite diverse which means there is something available for every taste. I found references to these fairs starting in the 1800's
You will find Blue Ribbon Recipes in categories for appetizers, soups, sandwiches, main dishes, bread, rolls, biscuits, dips, dressings and every dessert you can think of. In fact there is recipe to satisfy every passion and for every occasion in the world of Blue Ribbon Recipes.
Astonishingly the contestants range from hardcore old hands and competitors who tour the whole country entering recipes for big cash rewards, to beginner home cooks enthusiastic to take a chance with Grannies ancient recipes for, say, the good old "Apple pie".
As one hopeful contestant said "I just love entering County and State Fairs and I have been collecting competition recipes and cook books for many,many years".
Inevitably, I suppose, commercialism has crept in to these events. During recent years apparently, sponsorship of recipe contests by national food companies has become popular at fairs across America. The various companies award generous prizes for original recipes featuring their products.
Again notably, some famous food products have originated as a result of state fairs. Way back in 1852 at the first State Fair of Texas, a notable contestant named Gail Borden Jr. submitted a dried "meat biscuit" recipe. His recognition and success came some time later after turning his processed and condensed milk into a "National Brand Name".
If you are looking for a delicious dish to be proud of, let's face it, you can't go wrong with a recipe that has won a state fair competition and even better got that "Blue Ribbon" award!! They obviously do not just give them away lightly!!
Well there we are, just a little information on the significance of "Blue Ribbon Recipes".
For the record this recipe took 3rd place at the Illinois State Fair but I can't tell you which year. What I can tell you is that the outcome of my dinner party was a complete success for me and my guests to the point that many of them even asked for the recipe!!
If you are interested in collecting good foods recipes, do yourself a favour and try and get hold of "490 Blue Ribbon Recipes"
The author Christopher Phillips is a retired restaurateur with a passion for collecting recipes from all over the world. You are free and welcome to copy and distribute this article without alteration and with the usual acknowledgment to the author.
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