For the past several years I’ve been part of the home food preservation competition at the NC State Fair. Every year, going back decades, people from all over our state bring their pickles, jams and preserves to Raleigh to compete for big prizes – including best in show.

The 2018 competition is tomorrow. A bunch of phenomenal volunteers spent this afternoon looking through recipes and checking processing times. A few products get their pH tested to make sure our judges don’t get botulism.

Last year, Our State covered the completion, and wrote some great stuff. My favorite being,

By 10:30, the hostess cart is operating with smooth efficiency, transporting jars of gherkins and dills, jams and jellies to their appropriate tables. The sugar rush has hit. The bracing smack of brine has loosened tongues. And the atmosphere inside the Education Building has turned bubbly, like a cocktail party. Jar seals are popping (a good sign!), pencils are scribbling (“Let’s make sure we’re thoughtful about giving feedback,” urges Chapman), and entries with rusty lids, stray hairs, or odd-looking weblike things hiding under screw tops are delicately set aside.