When Betty Kozak sinks her teeth into a firm, juicy, pungent dill pickle, her favorite part is the crunch.
After that, the head judge for Brandon’s International Pickle Festival has to weigh other factors to decide which pickle is most pleasing to the palate.
“I really go for the dill flavor but I have no problem with garlic either,” said the Neepawa, Man. home economist.
Pickle judging takes a real knack and the most important trick of the trade is to take taste-testing in stride. This is the fourth year in a row she has presided over the competition where she comes face to face with up to 50 jars of pickles.
Read Also
Going beyond “Resistant” on crop seed labels
Variety resistance is getting more specific on crop disease pathogens, but that information must be conveyed in a way that actually helps producers make rotation decisions.
Kozak also judges bread and other baking at country agriculture fairs. But pickles are different, she said. Judges have to take it slow.
“You don’t swallow everything,” she said.
“If you do, it all starts to taste the same after awhile.”
Another trick is to combine bread and pickle judging together to help cleanse the palate.
“We also eat soda crackers and drink water between samples.”
Kozak takes the job seriously. To become credited with the Agricultural Society of Fair Judges she had to apprentice with a qualified judge and upgrade her skills through workshops once every three years.
Leave you wanting more
But having a taste for pickles and home-grown produce doesn’t hurt.
“The question you always ask in the end is will I go back for more? If the answer is a resounding ‘yes’ then that says it.”
It’s that conclusion judges came to after sampling Leanne Goetz’s pickles during last weekend’s summer street festival in Brandon.
Goetz credits 10 years of canning for claiming the title of grand prize winner of the pickle contest.
The secret to capturing the winning taste is to bring together the perfect blend of spices with produce at its peak stage of ripeness.
“There’s also the general appearance and the uniformity of pickles in the jar,” she said.
Goetz and her family have always preferred fresh produce to store-bought foods.
“The end result is rewarding when you have a pantry full of food for the winter and the economics of canning factors in, too.”
Laurene Henderson, marketing director for the Brandon Downtown Improvement Association that organizes the event, said the festival has long-standing roots.
“The history of this region is that pioneers came here from all other countries and in order to survive, they had to put up food for the winter,” said Henderson.
“These days if we don’t have our coffee in the morning it’s a real problem, so we have to remind people the way it used to be.”
With today’s modern conveniences, canning has lost some of its importance, since most foods can be refrigerated. But pickles are preserved today in the same way they have always been.
Approximately 8,000 people attended the festival.
